Toujours le Cœur Pur
by finnie200
Summary: *HIATUS PENDING REWRITE* House Black had suffered greatly over the past decade and the older generation had been forced to watch. Now this generation of the House of Black have chosen to get involved to save their house and magics. To do so they must find a way to free Sirius Black and bring Harry Potter, grandson of a Black back into the fold and wizarding world.
1. Chapter 1

**Another Harry Potter story. I basically wrote this after I tried to understand the Black family tree which is pretty confusing, some of them were having children when they were thirteen! I have altered some of the dates of some of the members of the Black family to suit, if at any point clarification is needed of the familial relations comment and I can put a family tree of sorts up. Most of this information came from the Harry Potter Wikia anyways, please excuse any mix ups, the family tree is so convoluted and varied according to which website used it can be confusing.**

 **This is set five years after the defeat of Voldermort so Harry has just had his sixth birthday. I am not quite sure which school Harry will go to yet, I was thinking Durmstrang, but comment and tell me what you think.**

 **As usual I don't own Harry Potter and I write for fun**

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Chapter 1:

The reputation of the Black family was stained beyond belief, their House shamed and ruined to the point it would seem of no redemption. Of the youngest generation there was only one who survived outside of Azkaban and even Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black, had not escaped with a reputation untarnished. Two more were in Azkaban, including the heir Sirius Black whilst his brother, Regulus, remained unaccounted for, although everyone knew he was dead.

Of the older generation the same could be said, Walburga had died two years after the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort, Orion, her husband, predeceasing her. Alphard was dead too again from unknown circumstances. Even the lordship of the family floated around unclaimed as Arcturus III had died only a few months after Voldemort's death, already knowing that his dynasty was at an end. Not that he was a good Paterfamilias

for the House, his decisions had driven his family members to their knees through marriage contracts and political support of unsuitable figures.

Indeed, the only surviving members of the Black family who remained free were scattered across Europe, holed up in various manors and estates trying to gather what little dignity they felt. Cassiopeia remained in France, in the Black Chateau urgently examining her 'black book' for anything that may assist in the family's rejuvenation. Phineas Black, named after his father, the onetime headmaster of Hogwarts, had left for Greece, blasted off the family tree for his support of Muggle Rights. Marius Black, disowned for being a Squib, lived somewhere in Wales, although none of his family could bring themselves to care about him.

Sitting in her Chateau in the Alps, Cassiopeia could almost weep at the disgrace her family had become. When she had been born the Black family with their magical ancestry dating back almost seventeen generations had been one of the strongest in Britain as well as Europe. Unlike the Potter family that chose to remain mostly in England and the Malfoy family who had been forced to flee France for England, forsaking any connections there, the Black family had realised the strength of their continental connections.

That was at least until Arcturus. Blind fool that he was, he choose to throw his weight behind a man who would not even tell his followers his own family name. Ordering his son, her nephew, to marry his cousin, his cousin's daughter to marry a Malfoy whilst the other was left to marry a Lestrange. Idiot. Misguided, pompous idiot. And now, now there was so little she could do. Cassiopeia knew that when Draco Lucius Malfoy turned seventeen, he would be frogmarched, or he would run eagerly to Gringots himself, have a blood test done and name himself Paterfamilias of the Most Ancient and Noble House Black, quite a few steps up from the status of the Malfoy house which only became a Noble house due to their strategic bribes, although Lucius would surely call them 'offerings'.

Granted there was a chance that the Malfoy boy would turn out of decent sort, but Narcissa was a rather vain creature and Lucius was likely to turn the poor boy into a mini him, that did not bode well for her house.

What in Merlin's name could she do?

Whilst there were many who were related to the Black's through various marriages, the rules and magics of inheriting a Most Ancient and Noble House were complicated. Draco was the closest relative, other than Andromeda who was older than Narcissa. However, unlike some members of the family she was disowned, rather than just burned off the tapestry by that vapid cow Walburga (despite being her aunt, Cassiopeia found her to be a cross between a harpy and a toad of some sort). Well, if you do burn down an entire rose garden with a very effective Fiendfire when told you had to marry someone you didn't like, in front of both your own family and his, then it is difficult to say that it wasn't an obvious choice. Apparently the Flint's still hadn't worked out a way to restore that part of their grounds to its former glory.

Cassiopeia chuckled at the memory. There are ways to leave in style and that certainly ranked highly.

However, now there were bigger fish to fry. If there was a way to restore her family, Cassiopeia would find it. In her study she had the largest family tree she could find, covered with annotations about their magics and status. Aside from this, Cassiopeia had her golden ticket, her 'black book'. Kept in a vault under the study and guarded by the strongest wards there were, the 'black book' held secrets past and present about people from the Minister to the owners of Honeydukes, from Ollivander to the driver of the Knight Bus. Built up over her lifetime of nearly a century, it she could destroy the entire Ministry in Britain and other countries in Europe too. However, like all great Black's and Slytherin's, she knew when to play her hand with this information. Knowing that the Head of the Department for Transport was having an affair with his cousin's husband was only useful when you needed something in return after all. And now was a definite time to play her cards.

Moving back up the generational tree she reached Orion's generation, where few useful marriages occurred to solve her problem, a marriage to a Goyle would hardly give her a scion she needed. So up another generation, her brothers Pollux and Marius, well Marius was a squib and Pollux was dead, irritating moron, after all Walburga's temperament had to come from somewhere, idiot who had his first child whilst only thirteen. Anyway, no luck there.

There had to be someone, someone who wasn't a moron who strove for blood purity but was not a blood traitor either who dismissed the customs of a millennia. Someone who could be suitable or even crafted to be the next Paterfamilias, not an idiot like the last two heads of House Black but someone who would be able to treat the tricky path back to glory, without being distracted by the boggarts and Red Caps that would surely see an opportunity.

Cassiopeia was about to move further along the family when she stopped and looked to her own sister, Dorea Black. Dorea and she had always been close, it had been difficult not to be. However, she had died in her fifties with her husband in a Death Eater raid. A husband with whom she bore a son, who married and was murdered. However, before their deaths, her great nephew had sired a child, a son known to the world as Harry Potter. Well that, that might just work.

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 **Next chapter: meet the allies!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Meet the family!**

 **As ever I don't own Harry Potter and I write for fun**

* * *

Chapter 2:

Plans had to be made, that much was obvious. Plans that would involve the reunion of the scattered fragments of the members of House Black, the rejuvenation of their house deserved all their attention.

And so the owls went out, to Phineas and to Marius, no doubt the later would be rather shocked to receive one but someone aware of the muggle world was necessary now.

House Black needed a new start and it would be afforded them by Harry Potter. He would be raised the pureblood heir he was. Not with the values of the last three generations but with the original values and lessons that taught of magic as the judge, not family.

* * *

Sitting in his villa on Crete, Phineas Black wrote. He had spent the last six decades as the equivalent of an Unspeakable for the Grecian Magical government. It had been rewarding but his last project had taken almost twenty years and involved a huge amount of people across the world.

Phineas almost snorted, he wondered what the reaction of his family would be if they saw him studying the magical cores of squibs and what in Britain were termed 'Muggleborns'. In most other countries they were normally called 'First Generations' whilst Muggles were called 'Mundanes'. Not that his family really existed any more, the only family members he had ever really liked were Dorea, Alphard and Sirius, two now dead, the other imprisoned. Best not to dwell on these matters too much, after all he would tickle the dragon that was his family if this research ever got released. No doubt in Britain they would try to explain the evidence away as the delusions of a Muggle-lover.

Phineas was almost glad to be startled from his musings by an owl which flew into the window and landed on a rather precarious pile of books. Reaching to relieve the owl of burden, Phineas noted that it did not leave but waited for a reply. Turning over the envelope, Phineas almost dropped it like it might curse him, although that may actually happen, the Black's were notorious for a reason. Throwing every analysis spell he knew, learned through necessity, and deeming it safe, the man opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment.

 _Chateau Noir_

 _Chambéry_

 _Cousin Phineas,_

 _I am sure that receiving this missive will have surprised you, after all as far as I know no member of the family other than Dorea, Alphard and Sirius have made contact with you since you left the family._

 _I am unaware whether or not you are aware but unlike Marius and other members of the family, you were never fully disinherited from the family although you were blasted from the family tree. I believe it may have been that Arcturus just forgot as you left on your own volition, rather than being forced from the family._

 _Aware as I am of your position in the Greek government I understand that this may be a difficult request but I must ask that you come to a meeting of the family next Tuesday at eleven o'clock. Too long has our family languished in disgrace and mismanagement and I now seek a way to help the family and the British government. I am sure you are aware that the Dark Lord known as Voldermort is believed to be dead, however I do not believe that to be true and I therefore beseech you to come so that we may discuss the matter. For when he returns, and he will, we will once more be asked to make the decision of where to stand and I have pertinent information that suggests that I should trust the self-styled leader of the light the same as I would trust Voldermort._

 _Yours sincerely with the blessing of Mother Magic,_

 _Cassiopeia Black,_

How did one even begin to dissect that, let along reply? Phineas was well aware, as were most of the family Black, of Cassiopeia's 'Black Book' which could cause a World War, although she herself would prefer to sit back and get rich on the back of the information she earned through a series of spy networks that spanned Europe. He could ignore the letter but there was always the risk that Cassiopeia would seek him out himself, he would rather she never enter the country, let along his villa grounds. Phineas was also well aware that she was correct, whilst the war had not really left Britain, if Voldermort were to return then he would set his sights on Europe as a show of power after the insult of being subdued by a toddler.

No, better he go and see Cassiopeia and learn what she believed would see the redemption of his House. And it was actually his House too, the fact that he had not been disowned surprised him, whilst he had been in Greece he had always used the Greek for Black, Mávros, as his surname for fear of reprisals from his family.

Sighing and wondering what had happened for him to earn contact from his family, Phineas wrote a short missive to his cousin and sent it off with the owl. Watching it as it flew away, Phineas was almost tempted to summon it back, burn the letter and move to Paraguay, he was sure it was lovely at the time of year.

Snickering slightly, Phineas decided to take his research with him to show his family, it would make for some… interesting dinner conversation.

* * *

Sitting in his offices in Middle Temple, London, Marius Black was one of the most well respected Barristers for financial disputes, if there was one thing that his early upbringing had allowed for was an understanding of the importance of finance and law. Marius had discovered his status as a Squib when his Hogwarts letter didn't arrive and in many respects he was almost glad. Unlike many Squibs from traditional pureblood families, Marius was not abandoned in the Muggle world, a distant cousin who was a Squib too took him in. Attending Eton and then Cambridge to study law, Marius had made his career in London. Meeting his wife, Tamara when he was in his fifties he promptly married her and whilst they never had any children, Tamara was well aware of her husband's status and reason for apparent lack of family.

Marius was quite certain that if he had been involved in the magical world he would have suffered and probably left at some point, sick of the conflict. If one was aware of the magical world it was quite easy to tell its status, even from Muggle newspapers, the fact that three years ago random murders and wanton destruction stopped suggest that the dark had once more been suppressed.

Hearing a tapping, Marius looked over the window, his mouth open as he beheld an owl sitting on his window ledge holding a letter. He had had no contact from the magical world since he was eighteen when his sister once wrote. Slowly opening the window, Marius watched as the owl flew in and sat on his desk, hooting impatiently.

Retrieving the letter, Marius sat down and drew a breath in before slicing the envelope open. The parchment of the letter inside felt so familiar and he almost smiled at the memory, for all the magical world was behind there was something so stylish to using parchments rather than those godawful computers which he hated so much.

 _Chateau Noir_

 _Chambéry_

 _Hello Brother,_

 _If memory serves it has almost been sixty years since we last conversed and I find myself in need of your assistance. I am sure that you are not abreast with the happenings of the magical world, so a synopsis appears in order so you understand of what I write._

 _You left seventy years ago, in the following years Arcturus started to make decisions that have greatly affected us all. Dorea married Charlus Potter and had one son, James, Orion married Walburga and had two sons, Sirius and Regulus. Our esteemed Paterfamelias further funded and supported many bills that sought the power of the Dark to grow. At the same time Voldermort used this conflict to reaffirm his status, gaining a reputation quickly as Heir of Slytherin, although it is unknown the validity of this claim._

 _With the support of many of the darker pureblood families a Dark Lord gained power called Voldermort. His impact was huge_ _, so many families are gone, utterly gone, their names and magics forgotten. Dumbledore gained more power as the leader of the resistance, although it was guerrilla warfare at best. Then for some reason, the Lord Potter went into hiding with his wife and new born son, no-one quite knows why as he was an active Auror then suddenly vanished. Anyway, Voldermort attacked their house in Godric's Hollow that was under the Fidealis Charm, killed James and Lily Potter before turning his wand on their son. For some reason, I suspect a mixture of Old Magics and Familial Magics, Harry Potter survived the Killing Curse and is hailed as the defeater of Voldermort and the Boy-Who-Lived._

 _I find myself rambling now about things that are better explained face to face as I fear there are problems and events too numerous to mention._

 _Brother, there are so few of our family left I need help and our name is thought of as darker than a Dementor's cloak, Sirius, Orion's eldest son was imprisoned in Azkaban WITHOUT TRIAL for betraying the Potters and killing thirteen Muggles. Harry is Dorea's grandson and has the potential to be the_ _Paterfamilias_ _of our family if only we had some assistance. Fundamentally, I need your help with the legal matters, I know that you cannot speak in our courts of law but I need your help with getting Sirius a trial. He is no longer a viable candidate as Heir, between Walburga and Arcturus they disowned him completely so long as another Heir was available. The only other Heir is the Scion of Malfoy and I would rather see the House end than him as_ _Paterfamilias_ _. Harry Potter as a descendant of House Black and Sirius' bonded godson has a greater claim._

 _I understand that you may wish to refuse but I entreat you to visit me at the Chateau next Tuesday at eleven o'clock. If you agree I shall send a house-elf to bring you and your wife here. Please send a reply back via the owl who delivered this letter._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Cassiopeia Black_

A stream of swear words fell from his lips as he reread the letter. Getting involved with the magical world would be difficult, it would attract unnecessary attention but at the same time, he would give a huge amount just to see the places he had loved once more. To stroll through Diagon Alley to Gringots, Honeydukes or Florean's Ice Cream Shop. His childhood had been filled with broomsticks, wands and potions, or extraordinary creatures that were incomparable in the mundane world. Anyone would miss it, not the prejudice, but the excitement of the place. Although it may all have changed now that must be said, and from his sister's letter war had shaken their society for almost a decade.

Phoning his wife, Marius explained the letter and his worries. Sitting back in his chair with his hands steepled in front of him, he thought before picking up his fountain pen and writing a letter confirming his arrival via if a house elf was sent for the following Tuesday.

* * *

Back in France, Cassiopeia would have whooped if it would not have been in bad taste. They were coming. Her plans had moved a step forward. Calling her house elf to her, Cassiopeia organised for rooms to be prepared before she returned to the sanctuary of her study to try to analyse who could be 'persuaded' help her towards her aims.

* * *

 **The next chapter should be up shortly, yayyy for family reunions!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I thought I would answer some of the questions from reviews and messages I have recieved.**

 **1) Andromeda will be introduced later but at the moment she is slightly unnecessary and I didn't want to have too many characters at this point in the story.**

 **2) Dumbledore is not going to be evil but manipulative for the 'greater good' whilst blind to the suffering it causes. The Weasley's are going to be very firmly supporters of him**

 **3) Lupin will be involved but later, I haven't decided his relationship with Sirius yet**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter nor any of the characters**

* * *

Chapter 3:

Tuesday came, as it is apt to do, quicker than expected for all three members of the Black family. For Cassiopeia it meant the arrival of her brother who she had not seen since she was thirteen and of her cousin. She was well aware of the likely fears of both her guests, after all one was a squib and the other had practically been chased from Britain for his more alternative views. Although she would never admit she was nervous and flitted around the chateau without finding something to entertain here before her visitors arrived. She now sat in her Drawing Room, waiting for her house elf to inform her of her guests' arrivals. So deep was she in thought that she missed the 'crack' as the house elf appeared in the room.

"Mistress, your guests have arrived"

"Oh, thank you Mispsy"

Steeling herself for what promised to be a difficult reunion Cassiopeia walked through the Chateau to the hall, entering it she saw two rather unmistakable figures. Phineas Black, who now looked in his sixties was tall and had the typical Black appearance complete with the grey eyes. Eyes that matched Cassiopeia herself and Marius. Marius looked slightly uncomfortable, likely feeling out of place in the halls of his ancestors.

"I can only thank you for coming. And before we go any further I swear an oath on my magic that I mean no harm to either of you."

"The offer of your oath is appreciated Cassi, but unnecessary. I am willing to trust your word alone sister."

"I will trust your word too cousin, we are family whether we like it or not and in some matters it is best to trust one and other."

"Marius, Phineas. I thank you for your words. Will you accompany me to my study?"

"Lead the way Cassi"

Both men followed Cassiopeia through the corridors to a small door. As far as both men knew no one had ever entered this room other than Cassiopeia who was rather protective of it, the fact that they were allowed in spoke volumes of her trust in them. Both men gasped slightly as they entered. One wall was taken up by a family tree covered with various annotations and the occasional piece of parchment whilst on the desk was an single A5 size leather bound book that seemed as innocuous as it was possible to be, yet both men knew its true worth.

Cassiopeia's voice interrupted them from their perusal of the room, "Whilst I am sure that the room itself is interesting, we must start our discussions…"

Both men flushed slightly acknowledging her words, "Agreed, sister. Where might we start, why have you called us here?"

"We are old and we have in our lifetimes seen our family change from neutral to dark, from good to bad and from great in both size and actions to corrupt and ill. I have lived here for the past forty years and seen Arcturus' folly followed by Orion's henpecked indecisions and I will stand it no longer. I seek the redemption of our family and name and whilst the actions of certain familial members in the war will never be forgotten, I seek a way of negating those actions. I need your help, why have information, I cannot do this alone. I would go to Andromeda as daughter of Cygnus but she has separated herself from so much of the magical society I struggle to see how, at the moment, it would help. So I plead that you help me, for I would not see the knowledge and magics of our family disappear."

Both men were aware of the disaster that the loss of a family could cause. Like so many of the ancient families, it was common for families to specialise in certain branches of magics. The death of an entire line meant the loss of their libraries and in many cases the family magics, if the House Black ended, then a thousand years of knowledge, spells and books would be lost. House Black specialised in offensive magic, just like House Potter specialised in defensive, House Longbottom specialised in herbology and the Lovegoods in magical creatures. And whilst Draco Malfoy may be a member of House Black he would not be accepted by the magic and thus unable to use the knowledge and perhaps open the libraries.

Phineas spoke first, "I understand what you are saying, it is true that it is necessary we find someone who the magic would accept and who can be raised as heir."

Marius smirked, "Sister, I know you. You have a plan already and we are simply game pieces, care to inform us?"

"Marius, you know me well. Fine, I acknowledge I have a plan and I acknowledge that you are integral to it, but I would not call you 'game pieces', I think 'minions' suits you better, don't you think?"

"Sister?" Marius said semi-warningly.

"I am sorry gentleman, I have lacked the presence of anyone to verbally spar with, we Black's are so wonderful at it…. Anyway, as you know Sirius has been utterly removed from becoming Lord Black, Walburga and Arcturus were particularly viscous in their revenge when he ran away after refusing to be force-fed their beliefs and agendas. I have been unable to find anyway to reverse this action however, they missed an important part as they never removed Sirius' heirs from succession, therefore whomever he declares his heir could be accepted as the legal Heir Black. Sirius' will, which was updated in December 1980, lists only two main beneficiaries. Some money to go to Remus Lupin, the other is the godson and the will reads "all other monies, properties, chattels and affects to him as my heir". Considering that Regulus Black died in 1979, we can then assume that the title of Heir Black is up in the air at the moment, however in literal as no-one had claim of the title, by acknowledging the godson as heir, he can become Heir Black over Malfoy if the magic acknowledges him. Is this making sense so far?"

Marius, understand what his sister was saying from a legal point of view, replied, "So what you are saying is that the ambiguity in the will benefits the godson over any other member of the family as he is Heir by the design of a family member. But the magic would only accept him if he were a member of House Black, who is the godson?"

Phineas laughed, "I always forget how much of a genius you can be cousin. Sirius only has one godson, the grandson of Dorea. Which would mean the Heir Black title can be claimed by one Harry James Potter and the magic and law will accept him."

"Indeed gentleman. Whilst the law would accept Draco Malfoy as heir, the magic wouldn't as he is not a member of another Ancient and Noble House. As Harry Potter is already Heir Potter the magic would accept him as Heir Black by combining the magics. He can also take the title much earlier, whilst he cannot become _Paterfamilias_ until after his majority, as heir in both magic and law as well as the only a member of a Most Ancient and Noble house, he can become Heir Lord to both families, he would become Harry Potter-Black".

"So I take it your first step is to adopt Harry Potter, who has care of him since his parent's deaths?" Phineas asked.

"This is where it gets a little tricky, Dumbledore placed him in the care of his muggle family apparently, hidden away from the magical world. We would need to find him first."

Marius responded, "That is no problem, I doubt they will have changed his name or anything, all it would take is a little research on the computer and a couple of favours pulled in with Scotland Yard. I am familiar with the muggle world, it shouldn't take too long."

Cassiopeia breathed a sigh of relief at this, "I had been thinking it would take months of work, I am grateful for your assistance."

"I take it there is more to your plan than just ensuring that Potter is accepted Heir before the Malfoy boy?"

"Indeed, this is where I believe I need your help cousin. Sirius never received a trial, I believe that we should ensure he receives one. I have evidence that suggests that he was framed for the murder of the muggles on the 1st November 1981, if this is the case I struggle to see why that was necessary?"

"You are right cousin. I don't know how easy it would be to get a trial, the British government seem to try to sweep the past under the carpet. They are corrupt beyond belief and in the pocket of many who I doubt would want Sirius to stand trial."

Cassisopeia smirked

Seeing this Marius laughed, "Phineas, if you have never seen that look on Cassi's face that is her evil plan face. I have no doubt that she has some suitable… 'persuasions' she can use to make the politicians see the... necessity of ensuring a swift trial of one Sirius Orion Black."

All three Blacks laughed before Cassiopeia added "I do so find it interesting that the Head of the Aurors, Crutthers, is having an affair with his secretary. Almost as interesting as the fact that the advisor to Minister Bagnold has been stealing from his boss. It really is such a shame I can't use this…information"

Marius and Phineas chuckled again before returning to their previous conversation.

"Sister, I must admit I get the plan but from the sounds of it Sirius is firmly placed under Dumbledore's thumb, how can we extricate him from this?"

"You are correct, if Sirius goes free, Dumbledore will claim him again and do what he can to ensure that if Sirius claims Harry back, they are still under his control. I thought that we do in an illogical order and manner. That is to say, we first remove Harry from his muggle relatives. Then we publically ask for a trial, if Sirius goes free then we have shown that we are were responsible and then we will be more able to approach him to tell him we have his godson. Otherwise we will not get close."

Phineas smirked, "The evil mastermind strikes again, Marius. We are lucky you never turned into a Dark Lady Cassi for if you did we would have been under your subjugation decades ago."

"There is still time gentleman. Don't tempt me. I find myself rather fond of playing puppeteer but only when no one can tell it is me behind the mayhem."

Marius turned serious once more, "I find myself in need of the full story as I feel that I lack some knowledge of events at the moment, will you tell me as I believe your suspicions of Dumbledore deserve some explanation."

"Of course brother, let us go for lunch, afterwards we can continue our plans."

* * *

 **Hope this all makes sense, if you need clarification tell me and I can explain it more. Also, where do you think Harry should go to school? It won't be for a few more chapters yet but I would like to hear people's thoughts about the subject.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I was asked to clarify some things about the whole inheritance thing so here it goes... I have altered some aspects of inheritance and the Harry Potter worlds to suit this story. Only males can inherit the title of Heir or Paterfamilias, this is pretty normal in a patriarchal society as males carry the family name. Therefore, Narcissa and Belletrix cannot inherit the title, however Draco could potentially if he were the sole descendant who had claim. To suit my story, Sirius cannot inherit the title of Heir Black as he was disinherited, however, Harry can on a legal technicality as well as the fact that he is a male descendant from a Black. Magic is a semi-aware entity in this story so that also does play apart, this will be furthered later in the story. Basically, Sirius can't inherit as he was disowned, but it is a patriarchal society so only Harry or Draco could potentially inherit, legally Harry has a higher status as a scion to a Most Ancient and Noble House. Hope this makes sense, it does in my head but I can struggle to put it into words.**

 **Onwards we go...**

Chapter 4:

"CASSI..."

"CASSIOPEIA..."

Cassiopeia and Phineas Black were enjoying an afternoon tea when the roar of anger ran through the vaulted and vaunted halls of the Chateau in France. Gently sitting her delicate teacup on its saucer, the woman in question looked over to the Drawing Room door as her squib brother stormed through it, nearly running over the house elf who had shown him in.

Raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, Cassiopeia asked, "What is the problem, brother my? Is there a need to trample into the house in such a manner?"

"Cassi, you will tell me this minute how you plan to teach and raise Harry Potter should he find himself in your hands."

"I don't know what you mean."

"What I mean is if you plan to bring him up as we were brought up, I will remove him from his present location and you will never find him, or me, again. He has been treated badly enough and if I have reason to believe for a minute that you will not give him a suitable childhood and life, I am out. I will pack my bags and leave, taking Harry Potter from his present 'home' and you will never see us again."

"Cousin, speak clearly and plainly, what has upset you so?" Phineas demanded "And does 'he has been treated badly enough' mean what I believe it means?"

"If you believe it means that I found the heir that my dear sister has been searching for, then yes. If you believe I was implying that he is treated like Walburga treated house elves, then yes, it means what you believe it to mean. And to return to my original statements. I refuse to be a part of this whole coup if it means that that boy be continued to be abused or treated badly. And whilst I trust you not to abuse him, I do not trust you sister, to not manipulate or take advantage of his youth and situation in order to achieve your eventual ends. I will take him myself if necessary and raise him in the muggle world with my wife. Do I speak 'plainly' enough now, cousin?" Marcus finished his rant, almost spitting the last sentence as he gesticulated wildly.

Silence followed as the two magic users processed the words the squib yelled at them. At the back of her mind, Cassiopeia was almost impressed, this was the first time she had seen her brother in a temper worthy of the Black name.

"Brother, I can only apologise that my behaviour has caused you to feel this. I know that my actions and words would suggest that I act only for the good of my House. And I fully admit I was wrong in this, you are right though. However, we need the whole story, you have found Harry Potter, that much is clear, but how and where?"

Marius sighed before collapsing into a chair, leaning forward and running his fingers through his grey hair as he spoke, "Finding someone in the muggle world can be easy if one is aware of how it works. Apart from anything else, I am as capable of calling in favours as you are Cassi. He is with his maternal Aunt, her husband and their son, in number 4, Privet Drive, Surrey. Their names are Petunia, Vernon and Dudley Dursley, whilst Harry remains a Potter as they never formally adopted him, only ever accepted guardianship. I watched for a day under the invisibility cloak you lent me and for the life of me fail to see why he was ever placed there... He is treated like a slave, on the day I watched him he worked the entire morning doing chores in the house such as cooking breakfast and cleaning. In the afternoon, he worked in the garden, in the summer heat whilst their own child bumbled around eating ice cream and taunting him. And when I spoke to some of the neighbours they seemed to believe that Harry was a... a delinquent, even at the age of six, whose parents died in a car crash. And if that is all I have learned from just looking at the house from the outside, I hate to see what his life is like inside the house. Now do you understand why I need some reassurances of your motives and plans for the boy?"

Cassiopeia sighed at her brother's words, "Marius, I can only apologise again. You are right, the boy is a means to an end to me. But believe me, whilst he is that, he is still a child, a child who deserves a childhood and fun. Whilst we cannot be his parents or even his grandparents we will be his family and raise and teach him as best we can, despite our advanced age. You were right to question me though, we shall do right by the boy."

Phineas decided to intercede at this point, "It seems then we need to advance our plans, I know that you had everything planned out cousin, but I cannot in good conscious wait for the 'correct moment' when I know that a child, let alone our own flesh and blood, is being treated in such a manner."

The lady was silent for a moment longer, trying to process the situation. Her brother's discoveries had scuppered some of her plans, Cassiopeia tended to plan every action and reaction out in her plans, and the discovery of the treatment of Harry Potter would alter this. Her original plans aimed to retrieve the boy in six months, as time was needed in order to ensure that everything was in action, she could not afford any mistake, after all she was trying to manipulate many cogs in the Ministry, whilst remaining out of sight of Dumbledore, Malfoy and Bagnold. The former two were the most dangerous, Dumbledore wanted to maintain his position as the 'leader of the light' and Malfoy wanted his own son to end up as Lord Black, whilst one would likely stop Harry being removed from his family, the other would stop Sirius receiving a trial.

She sank back into her chair, picking up her cup and saucer as she thought deeply, the brain flitting through possibilities and end results. Ever since Crouch Jr. had been sent to prison, his father had remained stoically out of trouble, particularly after his wife died, this was one of the main problems that Cassiopeia was suffering now as if she had some dirt on him then it would be much easier to arrange a trial for Sirius. Without it she was forced to approach lesser figures to make the Ministry suddenly 'see' their oversight when not giving Sirius a trial. As Malfoy would certainly not want to see Black stand trial, as to see him released was to see the possibility of seeing his son become Lord Black, it made things difficult. Whilst the Malfoy's bribed their way to the top, the Black's, particularly Cassiopeia saw this as rather plebeian and so used 'information' to a greater extent.

Meanwhile, Marius and Phineas watched. They were worried, both were aware that Cassiopeia was not doing this for the good of the boy but for the good of the family. They would argue with her to see her plans advanced as, whilst they cared for their family too, their morals and values would now allow them to wait half a year. Looking at his cousin, Phineas nodded, showing his approval of Marius' decree that he would disappear with the boy if necessary.

Finally, Cassiopeia shook herself out of her daze. Looking at both her cousin and her brother she sighed as she addressed the former. "You were right to tell me the reality of the situation with Harry and you are right, I have been too... focused…. We shall advance our plans, I just cannot see what Dumbledore's reaction will be if and when he finds Harry is not with his family. If he has monitoring charms on the house then it will be difficult for a wizard to remove him…"

Here her brother interrupted her, "Cassi, do you grow senile in your dotage? I can easily remove him legitimately, I am a squib and a barrister. All I would need to do is call the police on the Dursley's for mistreatment of their ward, they go to prison and Harry can be 'lost' in the foster care system. All it would take is some altered papers to misdirect anyone investigating."

Phineas decided to add on, "You are right Marius, think about it Cassiopeia! Dumbledore is not going to announce that he had lost the 'boy-who-lived' after it emerged he was subject to abuse. It is almost better this way, if Sirius is then out on trial it will be very public, particularly if we go to the papers and tell them how a Scion of House Black was denied a trial. It will throw everyone into such a state of confusion, it will make things more difficult for Dumbledore to discover his mistake. Anyway, what do you think Sirius would do if he was released and asks Dumbledore where his godson is, only to find out that he doesn't know?"

There was silence for a few seconds,

"I sometime forget that you were raised as Black's too." There were smirks at this, "Are you sure you don't want to assist me become a Dark Lady, there is room for generals?"

Phineas and Marius laughed at this. "Sister, agree that Harry will be removed from his present situation and then we will do thy bidding in order that you may become a Dark Lady."

"Are you just humouring me brother?"

"No Cassi, I really want to see you become a Dark Lady, it would be wonderful for the family reputation. I am sure that the ancestors would be praising your name for your actions whilst the descendants continue your work in ridding the magical world of all taints..."

* * *

 ** _Local Couple who treated nephew as slave arrested_**

 _A couple in Surrey have been arrested on charges ranging from mistreatment of a child to attempted murder yesterday. Vernon Dursley (30) and Petunia (nee Evans) (28) were remanded in custody after an anonymous tip led social services to investigate claims. The couple (who have a son age seven) were accused of the mistreatment against Petunia Dursley's nephew, whose name has not been released by the police officially but is reported locally as being Harry. The six year old boy was in the care of his aunt after both his parents died in a terrorist attack in 1981 at their home in Wales. Both names of the boy's parents have not been released as they were in witness protection due to the husband's role as a member of the police._

 _The police spent much of yesterday removing evidence from the house and the preliminary statements from the police force tell of the nephew being forced to sleep in a cupboard that also stored cleaning chemicals as well as being forced to do chores well beyond his age in return for little food. The boy's condition was said to be malnourished and heavily bruised and scarred from various beatings._

 _Many have questioned how none of the neighbours ever saw the abuse or ever reported. There have been calls made for a review of the school where both nephew and son attended to see how staff missed the abuse which has become so clear in light of recent events. More information will be released tomorrow by Scotland Yard._

Marius, having finished reading the article out loud, folded the paper up and looked to his audience of Phineas and Cassiopeia. Raising an eyebrow he waited for a response.

His sister started clapping, "Bravo brother. Masterfully managed."

"Thank you, Cassi. I thought that if I had James Potter in witness protection it would mean that it would not be odd if no more information was released on what happens to Harry. Otherwise there would be too much interest in the case locally. Now he can…disappear."

"You are a genius Marius, what will happen if Dumbledore were to search for him?"

"It depends if he follows the paper trail or approaches individuals. If he follows the paper trail he will end up going round in circles. Eventually the paperwork will suggest that Harry has been moved to witness protection outside the country, therefore even if he were to look, he could not get very far into another country's jurisdiction. I will need your help though, if Dumbledore chooses to try Legilimency instead there may still be enough to implicate us, or at least implicate wizarding influences. If we remove this then it would likely appear that Harry has simply been moved aboard to protect his identity, Dumbledore will likely just feel that the letter from Hogwarts will be his next opportunity to regain control of the child. Do you have a way to remove the information without it being obvious to a master of the mind?"

Phineas and Cassiopeia both looked at the squib, thinking. Phineas was the first to answer though, "A Memory charm would be the most obvious, a Befuddlement Potion would look suspicious as an entire group of muggles don't suddenly get confused about something all at the same time. I don't know what else would work though, what do you think Cassi?"

"We have few options, we could implant memories. We are both capable enough and you are right a simple 'obliviate' would only lead to more interest. We shall work on it first thing tomorrow." Cassiopeia was silent for a moment before continuing in a much softer tone, "I didn't realise how bad it was, I am sorry Marius, you were right, if we had left it any longer the poor boy would have suffered even more"

There was silence for a moment as they each recalled the photos and reports they had seen whilst trying to manipulate the police and hospital to do as they wanted and required.

Phineas looking to his cousin, "How long will they get in prison?"

Seeing the smirk on the barrister's face, his two relatives would have shuddered if they were lesser people. It was the malevolent Black smirk that tended to precede pain towards someone or something, "I can't say for certain but I have had a few…words with various people. We need not worry about them for a long time."

All three Black's raised their eyes to the ceiling of the Drawing Room, looking up to where, in a room above, a small, dark haired boy lay asleep, under the influence of a Dreamless Potion. It would be a long time before he woke up, as he was still recovering from his treatment at the hands of his muggle relatives. However, House Black had now recovered their Heir and they weren't likely to let him go easily.

* * *

Whilst the three members of House Black toasted their success with a bottle of Krugg champagne which cost more than some houses would, another Squib read the paper frantically. She had seen the police cars on Privet Drive and not thought too much of it, that was until she received the paper the following morning. Grabbing a handful of Floo powder she ran in her carpet slippers and dressing gown to fireplace. Calling out a name, she flung it in and as the flames turned green, walked in.

Stumbling out of the fireplace into a sumptuous office, she turned to see Albus Dumbledore sitting behind his desk in an even more lurid dressing gown than the one that she wore. Scarcely able to even form words, let alone sentences, Arabella Figg flung the paper she still clutched at him, then collapsed into the seat in-front of the desk, her head in her hands. Dumbledore's eyes dimmed the more he read and he sat for a few minutes, processing the contents of the article and its implications.

"I am sorry Arabella, but this needs to be done. This can't get out... _stufpefy_... _obliviate"_

With that the Headmaster of Hogwarts levitated the unconscious woman and with her, apparated back to her house. Lowering her onto the sofa, he walked out the door, turning his feet towards Privet Drive and leaving Ms. Figg behind with no knowledge of her original position as watchman of Harry Potter's childhood.

* * *

 **So Harry is with the Black's now, the next chapter is his introduction to the wizarding world. Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you to** ** _harryfan160889_** **who pointed out I mixed Marius name a few times, those are all changed now, so hopefully it makes more sense now!**

 **P.S. I am not a journalist so have very little about how to write a newspaper article, please excuse my poor attempt...**

 **P.P.S. I know Dumbledore seems kind of evil at the moment, he isn't completely, I just needed some dramatic effect at the end of a rather dull chapter!**

 **Edit: It was pointed out that I made some mistakes with the family tree; according to Pottermore (I am afraid I used Wikia instead for the information for this story) Dorea Black is actually the aunt of James Potter not the mother but I don't really want to change this at this point in the story as I don't want to confuse the situation, sorry! However, I feel it is better to just admit the mistakes here so that people are know that I am aware of them and have deliberately left them. There was one other mix up I made when I confused Pollux and Arcturus in the first chapter but that is now changed as it matters more to the story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I can only apologise it took so long for me to update this, I got on a roll with my other stories and didn't get round to updating this. Anyway, here is the new chapter with Harry safety at Chateau Black.**

 **Just so you are aware, I am imagining the Cassiopeia's chateau to be modeled on the Chateau de Vizille, Grenoble but further up in the mountains.**

 **Just for clarification, Harry is six going on seven in a couple of months, Sirius has been in prison for just under five years. Hope this helps for reference!**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

Chapter 5:

The following morning, Harry Potter woke up in an enormous bed that was in the middle of an even more extensive bed. Knowing he wasn't allowed to touch beds, let alone sleep in them, the small six year old clambered off, having to use the bed clothes to lower himself onto the floor, so high was it off the ground. Harry crept as quietly as he could over to the window, slightly wincing as the blood returned to his stiff limbs. Having clambered onto the window seat, Harry looked out through the glass to see a range of snow topped mountains in the distance, whilst below him he could see a large pond and an expanse of gardens. Not sure what to do but knowing he was about to collapse with exhaustion, Harry slid off the window seat and slowly walked over to the lit fire which crackled merrily, the only sound in the large room. Wanting nothing more than to return to the comfortable bed but knowing he wasn't allowed to touch them, let alone sleep in them, Harry quickly curled up before fire to sleep.

Around half an hour later Mipsy, Cassiopeia's house elf, appeared with a _crack_ in the bedroom, wandering over to the high bed, she did not initially see the small child asleep by fire. It was only when she magically created a set of steps so that she could see to the top of the bed that she noticed the child wasn't there. Looking quickly around she saw the small raven haired boy by the fire and tutting all the while, quickly levitated him back into the bed and under the covers. Smoothing down his ruffled hair with a wrinkled hand, the old elf sent a pulse of her own magic though the sleeping form to check his vitals.

When her Mistress had yesterday summoned her to tell her that there would be little one for her to look after, Mipsy had been overjoyed. House elf magic relied on having a bond to a witch and wizard and the more witches and wizards in the family or house then the stronger the bond became and thus the magic that the house elf enjoyed. This symbiotic relationship benefited everyone which was why Mipsy was so pleased to have her new 'Little Master Hadrian' in the house to look after. Having her Mistress was alright but there wasn't much else to do, now that the Masters' Phineas and Marius were here too there was more to do though.

With another _crack_ the old house elf left the room to tell her Mistress the state of the boy.

It was not for another three hours that Harry or Hadrian as he was now to be called woke. It was perhaps fortunate that when he awoke, Marius was sitting in the room reading over a scroll.

"Oh you are awake now. How are you feeling?"

Harry looked at the coverlet and started twisting his fingers together, before whispering, "I am sorry I am on the bed, Sir"

Marius needed to lean quickly to hear the low whisper but working out the gist of the statement he said, "We put you in the bed so there is no need to be sorry."

"But I am not supposed to touch a bed…or sleep in them"

Marius sighed, "Harry, you need to forget all the rules that you were taught at your aunt and uncle's (and I use those terms very loosely). You can sleep in the bed here, you can eat as much food as you want and you will not be some sort of servant. Understand?"

"But how do I earn my keep" Harry asked before quickly covering his mouth with his hands and whimpering as he tried to lean away from Marius.

It was times like these that Marius wished he had magic so that he could go and curse those Dursley's from here to Timbuktu. "Harry, you know you can ask questions don't you?"

"Not allowed to" the boy muttered.

"This isn't Privet Drive and I am not a Dursley. However, I am related to you, my name is Marius. I am a relation on your father's side and you are now going to be living with my sister and me."

"But my father is a drunkard who didn't have any relations who could be burdened with me."

"Harry, we have already decided that the Dursley's are less intelligent that pigs" Marius was relieved to hear a small giggle from the boy "So it therefore stands that they don't know what they are talking about. So I am your family, we can show you how later but are you hungry or anything?"

Harry looked rather shocked up at the man who simply sighed once more before saying, "Harry, as I have said, if you are hungry then you can eat. Now, are you hungry?"

"Why are you doing this?" Harry whispered once more looking at this hands

"Because you are family and that, to us, is the most important thing."

Harry thought about this for a second before nodding slightly.

Marius stood slowly from the chair, careful not to startle the child, "I am off to get some food, you stay here, and I will be back in a minute." Knowing that Harry would most likely not be able to cope should Mipsy suddenly appear in the room, Marius called her once out of the room and had her retrieve a tray of food, something she was most happy to do. Re-entering the room, the old squib was unsurprised to see Harry looking lost on the large bed.

"Here we go, scrambled eggs, bacon, black pudding, toast and some fruit. No, just stay in bed, there is a tray so you can have breakfast in bed." Reaching under the bed, Marius retrieved the bed tray and placing it over the thin legs of the boy, then placed the large tray of food onto it.

"You don't have to eat everything but just as much as you can and want, okay".

Harry did not look convinced but his hand slowly went towards a piece of toast as if expecting Marius to stop him and tare his hand away as part of some sick joke. Marius did neither and watched his sadness at the boy's state mixed with relief and happiness that he would now actually have a childhood. It did not take a while for Harry to eat as he ate quickly as if it was going to be taken away if he didn't, he tended to stick to the plainer foods which was probably for the best as he was not likely to be able to eat the richer foods without being sick.

Once the boy had finished and sitting back more relaxed on the cushions but still very much aware of his surroundings, Marius said, "Right, now that breakfast is finished, would you like to meet my sister?"

Harry, knowing it would be rude to refuse only but still scared about meeting anyone new answered with a small, "Yes…?"

Knowing Harry's fears, Marius smiled reassuringly before picking up the half-full tray of food from Harry's lap and walking towards the bedroom door once more. Calling for Mipsy once more, he had her remove the tray and then tell his sister that her new protégée was awake. Having done this, he returned once more to the room and sat down at his seat beside the bed and smiled once more at the boy.

His sister seemed eager to actually meet and speak to the boy and after a curt knock at the door, quickly opened it. Rising from his chair, Marius decided introductions were in order.

"Cassi, this is Harry Potter….Harry, this is my sister Cassiopeia but you can call her Cassi, it is easier to say after all"

The elderly witch looked at the small boy on the bed for a moment before walking closer.

"It is lovely to meet you Mr Potter." Cassiopeia said, offering her hand out to shake which Harry did so rather clumsily.

Nodding briskly, the lady drew her wand and with a flick of it created an upright chair. Marius tensed up slightly, they hadn't quite got that far in explanations, gently trying to explain the existence of magic to the abused teen was the better way rather than basically slapping him round the face with it. He wished his sister had more…situational awareness about these type of mattes sometimes.

"What was that?" Harry said more than a little shocked.

"Magic" Cassiopeia said nonchalantly, "Really what have you been talking about all this time Marius?"

"You can't say that word..." Harry fearfully exclaimed.

"Why not?" Marius asked gently

"It is a bad word, they didn't like it."

"Harry" Marius said, "Their rules aren't ours, we are magic therefore we can say 'magic'."

What followed was a rather quick and simple explanation of magic.

"So m-m-magic exists…and I have it?"

"Yes Harry. Magic has existed for thousands of years and has been hidden for a long time because people didn't like us because we have it."

"So Aunt Petunia hated my Mummy because she was m-magic?"

Cassiopeia's voice was softer than Marius had ever heard it, "Yes, but we are magic too so we don't hate you."

"But I am a freak"

"Then we are all freaks together, we are all like you to some extent." Cassiopeia did not want to explain Marius' status as a squib at this point as she thought it would likely confuse the poor six year old.

"What will happen to me?"

"Harry, I am your great aunt, which means that for as long as you need and I am alive I will look after you. We will teach you, help you and guide you, you have never deserved what has happened to you during the past five years, now you will have the opportunity to be a child."

"Really?" Harry whispered, "You will love me?"

"If that is what you want then we will", Cassiopeia was more than a little astounded to find a small body flung into her own as Harry hugged her quickly. She now understood what Phineas had said about little boys' being adaptable and whilst she did not think for a moment that Harry was now recovered, it was a start. She was well aware she had little experience with children, they had always been one of those things that were necessary but not for her. It seemed she would be learning on the job.

* * *

"The boy in intelligent and has the capacity to be clever if he is taught right" Cassiopeia said thinking back to her conversation with the child.

"He shall be taught right but that is a conversation for another time I feel cousin" Phineas said.

Marcus, who was sat at a large desk surrounded by a multitude of parchments and scrolls, looked ready to jump out of the tower window. "Speak for yourself, might be more interesting than this lot" he muttered.

"How goes, brother?" Cassiopeia asked as she sipped a small glass of sherry before lunch.

"How goes? How goes? I thought muggle law was confusing but this lot takes the biscuit. You know that if after five years a criminal hasn't been tried or convicted he has to be freed, whether or not he is still a threat?"

"Really?" Phineas asked

"Yes, it is a law from 1694… I wouldn't recommend using it, you need him to be publically freed if he is innocent and publically tried and sentenced if he is guilty, otherwise he will just be seen as a criminal and the House will suffer. At any rate, you could sue the Ministry and Wizengamot for failing to give Sirius a trial."

Cassiopeia's eyes lit up like Dumbledore seeing a lemon drop, "Oh, really…well that is interesting wouldn't you say?"

"Cassi" Phineas said warningly, "We can't afford to play around at the moment…"

"Oh don't be boring Phineas, we need some fun and suing the Ministry sounds like fun…"

"'Sounds like fun' she says" Marius said almost in hysterics, "When people say 'fun' they tend to mean golf, reading or chess…not bally well suing the government."

"Well most people are boring…" Cassiopeia said matter of factly.

"More like most people aren't trying to be Dark Ladies" Phineas muttered before looking at the ceiling to avoid the glare he received from his lady cousin.

* * *

Standing in the outer chamber of the Wizengamot, both Cassopeia and Phineas Black stood with their pureblood mask masking the turmoil of their thoughts and emotions. Pretty much every plan and every manipulation relied on basically forcing the Wizengamot to force a trial of Sirius. Without it, they would be back to square one for, whilst they had Harry now, there was little they could do to ensure they could keep him if his location was ever compromised, nor could they ever formally induct him into House Black. Just then one of the doors into the Great Chamber was opened and a junior assistant to the Wizengamot entered.

"They will receive you now."

Phineas looked at Cassiopeia quickly, both breathing a prayer to Magic, hoping that people like Malfoy and Dumbledore wouldn't cause too much trouble. Cassopeia scoffed, a Malfoy not causing trouble was like a Hufflepuff not looking for food, never happened. As a show of unity, the two Black's entered together, into a tiered Chamber. Unlike official trials, petitioners to the Wizengamot were received in the Great Chamber, where all the laws and bills were discussed. Amongst the fifty or so members of the Wizengamot nearly all of the Sacred Twenty-Eight were represented as were many of the other great families of Wizarding Britain (and what Cassopeia happily termed the lesser families such as Dumbledore).

The reaction to seeing two Blacks' together was instantaneous as silence enveloped the room, ever since the fall of the younger generation of the House, many had expected the older members to go into exile to an extent and die far away from Britain and the reputation their name had. However, the older members of the Wizengamot were well aware of who particularly Cassiopeia was, when she was younger many had tried to court her but she had declined all, eventually settling in France and if rumours were to be believed, making a rather lot of money and building up vast stores of blackmail material. (The fact that these rumours were entirely true was neither here nor there). The younger members of the Wizengamot had no such wariness of the woman and, particularly the light block, sneered at the pair having seen the Black crest on the robes of the man and woman. The Minister sighed slightly, it seemed like it was going to be a long day; many had tried to claim the Black seats since the incarceration of Sirius Black yet none had been able, it seemed just as unlikely that this pair would manage anyway. Dumbledore was troubled, as an older member of the community, he knew that to believe Cassiopeia Black was a weak, elderly woman was similar to saying Minerva McGonagall was a weak, elderly woman and she was dangerous, as well versed in politics and manipulations as any Slytherin and Black. He did not know much about Phineas Black but he had heard rumours of his work in mainland Europe, an unknown entity was almost always worse than a known entity.

Standing from his seat as Chief Warlock, Dumbledore asked, "What would you bring before the Wizengamot?"

Looking at Phineas quickly before turning to look at the old headmaster, Cassiopeia answered almost nicely, "Oh just a small matter I assure you…We came to sue the Ministry and the Wizengamot."

There was an uproar of noise as everyone stood yelling at the pair. Minister Bagnold and Dumbledore regained control off about thirty seconds later with sparks from their wands.

"Madame Black, would you explain yourself" Minister Bagnold answered, more than a little wary and angry about the words of Cassiopeia.

"Simply put" Phineas answered, "We come before you because you have placed out family member and only possible regent of House Black in Azkaban without a trial"

"WHAT?" Crouch yelled from his place in the stand "EVERYONE KNOWS HE WAS GUILTY!"

Phineas and Cassiopeia appeared unfazed by the yelling and the latter sighed, "It does not matter whether everyone knows he is guilty, the fact is that you have placed Sirius Black in Azkaban without a trial, ergo we cannot have a new Paterfamilias of House Black which brings me to another matter. You placed a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, an heir of the Twenty-Eight to be tortured illegally…I use the word illegally as if there is no trial then there is no conviction."

"But…" Crouch started to say but was quickly interrupted

"Oh be quiet you irritating man and get your wand out of your arse. Anyway, we can sue as to have a trial, even if he is guilty, is a basic right of every member of the British Wizarding community and has been for nigh on five hundred years. Since you have failed in this most basic of rights, House Black has been unable to vote in this body as well as the Hogwarts, Beaubatons and Durmstrang boards as well as countless other things. We have also been unable to write any more betrothal contracts, marriage contracts nor even expel certain members of the family for their actions in the last war from the House and its magics. It does not matter what you and your Houses may feel but this House rather feels that it is time to tear down the malign and start to rebuild, for we have been denied this ever since you threw a man in prison without due concern and behaviour." Cassiopeia was rather pleased with herself, even for her she was on a roll, "So what we need to happen is a short trial, you know, Sirius Black is brought in, Veritiserum administered, a few questions asked and then he is actually given a conviction and we are all happy. Family magics are rebalanced, House Black can find itself a new _Paterfamilias_ or Heir and the Ministry does the right thing…"

Phineas added on, "Just be lucky we didn't wait until next year to point this out…the laws that you all follow say that people can't be held for more than five years, even if a legitimate reason is give, without trial and sentencing. After that they are free to go whatever happens…just imagine how that would have gone down in public, a convicted killer set free because the Ministry and Wizengamot failed to pour some Veritiserum down his throat." Phineas sighed theatrically, "Well I suppose you still have to deal with the reaction that this will receive anyway…if the son of one of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses and a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight can't get a trial, what would that mean for the average witch or wizard. Ah well, such is the fickle nature of the public."

After Phineas finished there was silence for a while as the Wizengamot realised exactly what the reaction would be out in the street if they failed to give a trial. Cassiopeia was surprised that Malfoy did not say anything, instead it was a dumpy woman, dressed in pink who looked considerably like a toad.

"I do not see why the Ministry and the Wizengamot needs to trouble itself with such a case as this…it is unnecessary and I believe that House Black likely wants to rebuild its following, everyone knows the type of House they are."

Cassiopeia looked over at the woman like she was something on the underside of her shoe, "And you are?"

"Dolores Umbridge, advisor to Cornelius Fudge"

"Umbridge…Umbridge…I know that name from somewhere" Cassiopeia mused

The squat woman looked smug, "I am a distant descendant of the Selywn line"

"No that's not it" making a show of snapping her fingers, Cassiopeia looked up, "Oh, I remember, I met your father once or twice" As though she wasn't noticing the other woman paling considerably, she continued, "Yes…he worked here at the Ministry…a cleaner I think, wasn't it? And I don't think you mean the Selwyn line, Madame, I have known that line for nearly a century and they made no mention of ever marrying into a House with a cleaner as its head."

(The fact that this information concerning Dolores Umbridge came from the infamous Black Book was once again, neither here nor there.)

There was considerable suppression of mirth throughout the Chamber as members tried to smother their laughter at the humiliation of the woman that the light hated for her anti-creature laws and the dark for her poor breeding and manners. The woman in question though was as quick to sit down as Fudge was to distance herself from her.

Minister Bagnold shakily got to her feet knowing full well that she was perhaps one of two people most at fault for failing to have a trial for Black, Crouch being the other. She hated to think exactly how much the pair of older Blacks' before her could actually sue the Ministry for, they likely had the best lawyers on retainer and certainly the case was pretty clear cut, it didn't matter whether Black was guilty or not, he hadn't had a trial. At that moment she was seriously considering whether or not just to resign and be done with the whole damn thing. Sure Minister meant having a nice house and all but really the stress of it all wasn't worth it, particularly when the Blacks' were out for blood.

"We will now take a vote, would all those who agree that Sirius Black should have a trial please light their wands…" She paused for a moment, "And all those who don't"

Looking down at the charmed parchment in front of her it was clear to see allegiances, the most extremes of the two blocks had all voted for no trial whilst the more neutral houses had all voted for a trial, interestingly Dumbledore had voted for no trial whilst Lucius Malfoy had voted for a trial.

"Motion carries, by twenty two seats to a hundred and forty-four, Sirius Orion Black will receive a trial as soon as possible. After which the trial of Cassiopeia and Phineas Black against the Ministry and Wizengamot will occur. Case closed."

Unlike the normal sedate chat that occurred after the close of a day at the Wizengamot, this day was full of loud chatter and arguments as people argued the failings of the Ministry and what this would mean. More than a couple were considering who the new Paterfamilias of House Black would be as that would likely cause more than a few political upheavals.

* * *

 ** _House Black call for trial of their relative after no evidence of trial_**

 _Two of the last members of House Black have announced they are planning to sue the Ministry after it emerged that Sirius Black did not receive any form of trial despite being accused of betraying the Potters and murdering fourteen including thirteen muggles. Having petitioned the Wizengamot, the motion for Sirius Black receiving a trial passed 22:144, after this trial, the case for the House Black against the Ministry will start and is likely to be a more laborious trial due to the gross miscarriage of justice and the effect that it will have had on the future of House Black._

 _Cassiopeia Black released has released a statement after her petition to the Wizengamot, "My family and I were alerted to the situation after we approached the goblins of Gringotts asking for information concerning the Heirship to the family. Whilst we were there it was revealed to us that they could not assist us without Sirius' presence as the only surviving son of Orion Black, the last_ paterfamilias _. As Sirius never received a trial, his vaults and properties were not forfeited to the Ministry. Even if he is guilty then House Black is stuck in limbo as we are not able to claim seats, inheritance nor make any new contracts without a new_ paterfamilias _nor an Heir." She went on to add "Moreover, we dread to think of the effects that this is having on the family magics"._

 _Lady Cassiopeia was joined in her call for a trial by her cousin, Phineas Black, neither have lived in Britain for the past decade or so._

 _Full transcript of the petition- p.2_

* * *

Sitting in his office once more Dumbledore was panicking. It all seemed to be going even more wrong. Sure, Sirius Black could potentially be innocent but if he was then he would reclaim Harry or at least try to find where he was and Dumbledore would lose any control. If he was guilty then the new head of House Black would have some duty to the child as Sirius was his bonded godfather, therefore once more the abuse of Harry would come out and he would lose control.

Dumbledore snorted, he had already lost control of Harry when he discovered that the Dursley's were all in prison for child abuse and Harry in witness protection abroad. He had tried again and again to discover where he was but all he had come up to was international laws and personal who didn't like the idea of the aged wizard trying to find where a boy in witness protection had disappeared to. Not even reading the minds of muggle detectives and officials had helped, it seemed he had been sent abroad by airplane, there was a seat booked for him on a flight to Portugal and from there no-one in Britain knew.

He had never meant the abuse to get that far, he had no desire to have a new Tom Riddle on his hands. But a child should be disciplined and it would be easier to control a boy who had seen no magic and was thus amazed by it and finally fitting in. A boy who was spoiled and completely aware of his status both as the Boy-Who-Lived and Lord Potter, would essentially mean having to deal with a young James Potter and that wouldn't help the situation should Voldemort return.

* * *

 **Next time- Harry's point of view of life with the Blacks' and Sirius trial.**

 **Please read and review! If you see any mistakes or any characters you would particularly like to see please do say and I will see what I can do. I have a rough plan but it seems to be forever altering and evolving.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this took so long to update, I have a research project abroad for the next month so updates may be slightly more sporadic but I shall aim to update at least once a week for each story I have on the go at the moment.**

 **Knights and Dragons- I am afraid I haven't really considered pairings yet, I have only planned as far as Harry's eleventh birthday but I will take into consideration the Fleur pairing! There will be short time skips and episodes from Harry's life with the Blacks' up until he goes to school**

 **VizeerLord- The Potter wills are going to be read sometime soon. There are going to be old marriage contracts but whether they can be avoided or not I shan't say. As I have said earlier, I haven't decided pairings so we shall have to see. Feel free to say who you would like to see Harry paired with.**

 **Pixelherodev- Hopefully parts of this chapter shall explain Dumbledore's actions. I don't tend to read stories where Dumbledore is totally evil, he really does believe what he is doing is right it is just that he is going to go the wrong way in doing them. He doesn't want to rule per say but monitor and influence the younger generations...**

 **Any more questions, please just ask and I shall try to answer.**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

Chapter 6:

In the 18th century, a muggle by the name of Francis Hutcheson wrote that life should be the "Greatest happiness for the greatest number" and so the idea of utilitarianism was born. Reading it as a teenager, the phrase resonated with Albus Dumbledore and it was something that he had tried to live his life by, eventually though Grindlewald had manipulated the idea and philosophy to 'for the greater good'. And whilst Dumbledore had come to hate that phrase, the original muggle words continued to resounded within him, after all, it did make sense. For him, happiness was for the greatest number, what did it matter that two people suffered if two hundred or two thousand were happy, the suffering of a few was always going to be tempered by the happiness of many.

Sirius and Harry were two of the former group, the few people who must suffer for the happiness of others. He knew deep down that what he was going was wrong but he had the future to think about and the future of the children at Hogwarts to think about. Oh, he knew that Harry wouldn't have the best upbringing, he would lack the love and compassion that his parents would have showered him in but at least he would come with the awe and wonder of a muggleborn into the magical world and never want to leave. He would not be raised in the prejudice and power struggle that he would have been accustomed to should he have remained in the magical world. In truth Dumbledore feared a boy like James once was but raised by Sirius, a man who would likely spoil the Boy-Who-Lived rotten, the magical world needed a figure head and they always had. Merlin was their greatest and Dumbledore had been the leader basically ever since he defeated Grindlewald but he was now old. He had been considering his successor as the next light lord for years and then Voldemort tried to kill the Potters' and Harry survived.

It was why he choose to become headmaster rather than Minister. It was all very well being Minister but the future was made by and for the young. Influence them then and you had influenced them for life. As headmaster he was able to control and influence the beliefs and values of the young, particularly the muggleborns and the light orientated families who trusted him, the same wasn't true for the darker families who inherently mistrusted him and his actions.

Harry had to be safe, he was the Boy-Who-Lived and Dumbledore did not know who to trust in the magical world, after all Black was apparently a Death Eater and whilst he rather doubted that it was true, it at least prevented Harry brought up by the man.

Dumbledore had seen the impact of the Death Eaters and indeed ambition. His own sister had been killed because of a mistake and the folly of youth. He had seen the aftermath of the Death Eater raids on families like the Bones', Potters' and Selwyn's. Indeed, it was James' parents' death that perhaps hit home most, he had known them for years and they had tried for a child for years, never succeeding until they had James quite late on in life. But they were killed at a party in their home, a single unwarded fireplace allowed ten Death Eaters to enter the house, kill Dorea and Charlus Potter as well as several others. James had received a black envelope the following morning, telling him at age sixteen that he was now Lord Potter and the sole remaining Potter. How could that not effect someone? And James was only one victim of the loss that tailed the Death Eaters like thunder tails lightning.

And so Dumbledore had decided to fight with whatever it took. The prophecy had given him hope. But it had not been completely fulfilled so he had been forced to think long term. He knew that Voldemort was still alive and weak, horcruxes were a distinct possibility, particularly as he had detected some foreign magic within Harry's core when he scanned him before leaving him with the Dursley's. He had no clue how many horcruxes Voldemort may have made not indeed they were actually indeed horcruxes, he could have killed the child there and then but then the new figurehead of the Light was lost and he the prophecy may never be fulfilled.

* * *

From Harry Potter's point of view, life couldn't really get much better than it had been over the past three days. He was still confined to his bed but he was carried out onto a balcony every day so he could get some fresh air, apparently it was good for little boys. He had received the shock of his life when a nice woman had arrived at number 4 Privet Drive and taken him from his cupboard to the hospital. When he had woken up though, he found himself in apparently a different country and the existence of magic. He was still very confused that he didn't have to do chores but apparently he shouldn't have done them in the first place so he didn't argue or say anything. He was also allowed to ask as many questions as he liked about magic and they were always answered, he learned that his parents were killed Lily and James. He had almost cried at seeing a picture of them, before they had always been faceless imaginations of a lonely boy but now they had form and he had proof that they existed and were good, not drunks, now layabouts.

He considered the three people who had rescued him and who he now lived with. Uncle Marius gave really good hugs, as did his wife, Tamara, who visited on occasion. Apparently he couldn't do magic which was really sad. He read some amazing books though, about giants, giant peaches, magical wardrobes and centaurs, Uncle Marius came in and read him stories every night before giving him a huge hug and putting him to bed in his vast canopied bed. Aunt Cassi (as she had asked him to call her after he had said her name wrong one too many times) was very beautiful, even though she was rather old. She was very scary but was kind to him at least, despite this she was strict though, forever telling him to enunciate, which he didn't understand at first, and to stand up straight. Uncle Phinni was like Uncle Marius, he too was very kind but didn't speak very much, seemingly reading almost constantly but he came in and gave Harry hugs once a day and always listened to him talking about life with the Dursleys', it was nice to have someone just to listen to him for once.

The one thing that confused more than most was the house-elf, Mipsy, who was almost constantly asking whether he wanted food, sleep, medicine, toys, or anything really. It was very strange to the boy who up until that point had lived in a cupboard, done chores for most of his time and had lived off scraps. To suddenly have this creature who seemed unwilling to even let him get off the bed by himself it all seemed rather unnecessary but nice at the same time. He sighed, apparently he was going to start lessons next week for reading, writing, history and etiquette. Whilst he had been at school for one year already, he had never had the attention that Dudley had had so his writing was good although he could speak quite well as he never really had any friends his own age, only the teachers would ever speak to him really when he was at school, the others scared by Dudley's bulk. It couldn't be too bad really Harry mused, at least his new aunt's and uncles' were nice and he had enough food and someone to look after him.

* * *

As Harry contemplated his new life in the chateau, Cassiopeia and Phineas found themselves once more in the Ministry, this time in the gallery of the largest of the old courtrooms. Unlike when passing bills and legislation, for criminal cases each member of the Wizengamot had one single vote. Either Sirius was guilty and then his will could be put into action and Harry could be named Heir Black or he was innocent then Sirius was free, Harry was still Heir Black until his majority, whatever happened, the Ministry would be paying a lot of money and basically bowing over backwards to assist the House Black. Really it was a win-win situation and Cassiopeia rather liked those events.

The court room was packed, the story had caught the attention of press over the magical world and a newspaper in France had gone so far as claiming that the situation "proved the incompetency and closed mind nature of Britain's magical community", that was one of the nicer comments, Italy had vilified the Ministry whilst America had pretty much said that if Britain did not put on a trial then they were revoking all trade deals. The basic problem was that Britain was the only country to use dementors, in most other countries they were viewed as dark and wrong, to place humans, whether guilty or not, near then was seen as torture and utterly illegal. They managed their prisons through immense wards and spells and they saw Britain as being backward and inhumane for their use of the dark creatures. Whether or not they were could be debated at another time, the simple fact was that the ICW was angry as were the British wizarding public, so inside the crowded court there were over fifty reporters from all over the world, eighteen photographers and two international ICW representatives, it would all serve to help the Blacks' case as well as Sirius' should he be innocent.

Speaking of the man, the poor figure of Sirius Black was now being led onto the platform and roughly pushed into the chair, the chains of which quickly wrapping around his clearly emancipated form. An auror stepped forward and poured veritaserum down his throat rather harshly, although the man willingly took it.

Bagnold stood, "We are here to rectify a five year old mistake. On behalf of the Ministry and the Wizengamot we apologise to House Black and we shall now aim to follow usual court behaviors and routines in order to formally sentence Sirius Black." Cassiopeia's face became one of disbelief, 'formally sentence', well if that wasn't an admittance of what they were expecting to happen then she had no idea what was. She turned back to Minister Bagnold who had sat done once more and was clearing her throat slightly to start the test questions.

"What is your full name and date of birth?"

"Sirius Orion Black, 3rd November 1959"

"And what is your occupation and what house were you in at Hogwarts?"

"Currently unemployed, former Auror. Gryffindor."

Bagnold turned to the court, "The veritaserum is working. We shall now start the charges. Did you betray James, Lily and Harry Potter?"

"Yes" Sirius said hoarsely despite the veritaserum. There were cries of victory but Minister Bagnold had to continue the list of questions, despite believing the case now basically closed, some members in both the light and dark blocks looked vindicated though.

"How did you betray James, Lily and Harry Potter?"

"I told them to change Secret Keeper to Peter Pettigrew to trick Voldemort." There was silence, all knew that only a Secret Keeper could tell the location of a house under the Fidelius charm. Looking over at Phineas, Cassiopeia smiled, one charge that Sirius was just proved innocent of.

Bagnold swallowed, "Why did you have them change?"

"I was too obvious, everyone knew I was James' best friend, I was also on active duty as an Auror so frequently in danger. It was to be the best prank, no-one would suspect Peter Pettigrew". Those that knew the four friends knew that was true, it would have been the greatest prank, if only they had been able to trust Pettigrew. Bagnold sat knowing that her political career was over, she had given Peter Pettigrew an Order of Merlin Third Class and now it was found revealed he was not even innocent.

"So Peter Pettigrew betrayed the location of the Potters' to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and you were not the Secret Keeper for the Potters?"

"Yes"

"Is this why you killed Peter Pettigrew?"

"I didn't kill him." Once more Sirius Black stunned the room to silence.

"Elaborate please Mr Black. Did you not confront Pettigrew in a muggle street and kill him and twelve muggles."

"No. I did go after Pettigrew after I found James and Lily dead but I didn't kill muggles. Pettigrew blew up a gas mains with a bombarda curse. He is an animagus, turns into a rat. He cut off his finger and transformed before running into the sewers."

Bagnold muttered an 'of course' under her breath as she contemplated whether she had enough money to escape to Brazil, or maybe the Easter Islands, the outrage that would stem from all this. She and Crouch had placed an innocent man in prison without a trial and a member of a Most Ancient and Noble House at that. She would be lucky if she was still alive though, knowing the Blacks'. Looking up at the gallery she caught sight of the two elderly Blacks' who sat there, smirks on their face as they watched the humiliation of their government, not that it really was theirs, after all one lived in France, the other in Greece. Rubbing her face with both hands, Bagnold looked back to the list of approved questions and knowing what his response would be, but also knowing that she had to ask, she looked once more at Sirius Black.

"Do you or have you ever supported, aided or abated You-Know-Who?"

"No"

With that Sirius Black was proved innocent of every single charge he had been imprisoned for. Bagnold swallowed deeply before turning to the court.

"All in favour of immediate acquittal and release from prison?"

Lights lit up across the room and it was immediately obvious that the case and trial were over. Looking at the minutes paper that recorded the votes, Bagnold shuddered slightly, some of the biggest names and people had voted not-guilty including the Greengrasses, Bones and even the Malfoys'.

"All in favour of a guilty sentence?"

No lights lit up as it seemed some had chosen not to abstain from the vote.

"Fifty two not guilty, zero guilty votes. Sirius Black, you are free to leave."

There was silence for a moment as no one was sure how to respond. What do you say to someone who had spent five years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Smirking at her cousin, Cassiopeia wasn't sure whether it was proper that she was this happy.

"Well" Cassiopeia said as she stood from her place in the gallery and watching as everyone turned to her, "This has been so very interesting, hasn't it cousin?"

"It really has" Phineas answered standing too, "But I think that you have a portkey to take Sirius to that private hospital we booked in Europe, don't you?"

"Indeed... Thank you for allowing us to regain a family member and essentially proving that you imprisoned and tortured a member of the Most Ancient and Noble House without reason. We have enjoyed ourselves immensely today." Cassiopeia said as she stood smirking down at the sheep beneath her.

Seeing that Minister Bagnold and several others were about to interrupt and likely start apologies, Phineas added, "We shall of course be back in a few days to discuss how the Ministry and Wizengamot are going to start the search for Peter Pettigrew and recompense House Black and Sirius. Unfortunately, my nephew seems to be suffering from undernourishment and that cough sounds a lot like influenza so we simply must get him some treatment, once we have done that we shall of course return with a healer's opinion on the impact that nearly five years in Azkaban has had on an innocent man..."

With that Phineas and Cassiopeia moved over to Sirius who sat not moving from the shock of his sudden release. With a glare at one of the Aurors, the chains which crossed Sirius body fell apart and the two elder Black pulled the younger to his feet and marched him quickly out the door. There was silence for a moment in the courtroom, that was until bedlam started. Reporters started yelling for statements, the members of the court trying to pass blame, the Minister and several others running after the Blacks' and the ICW representatives storming out of the room. They had been there to see justice performed and had not expected that the man may have been innocent, they saw it as there duty to tell the ICW of the horrors that the British incompetence had inflicted upon an innocent man.

* * *

 _ **Bagnold Resigns.**_

 _Perhaps it is not unexpected after the trial of Sirius Black two days ago that Minister Bagnold has resigned. She along with Crouch were responsible for throwing Sirius Black into prison without a trial and this mistake has cost her greatly. The international outcry from the ICW and the international community has been seen as the final nail in the coffin for Bagnold who was to stand down at the end of the year anyway._

 _Crouch has not resigned, despite pressure from both the international and wizarding community. How long he survives now is a hotly debated topic, this reporter believes that he will leave the Ministry in the next week._

 _More on Bagnold's tenure as Minister-p.2-3_

 _Who will be the next Minister?- p.5_

* * *

"Mr Black? Mr Black?"

Sirius Orion Black was torn from his deep thoughts by the voice of the medi-nurse from the door.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"…Yes" Sirius said, looking at his skeletal grey hands that lay clasped on the bed in front of him. Getting out of prison had once seemed the impossible part, now he was free it seemed that recovering was going to be. He knew that he was ill but to have it read out to you was horrendous, to hear them talk about influenza, loss of feeling, infertility, really starvation seemed to be the easiest to handle, at least that was easy to see and admit to oneself. The infertility…that was difficult to process, it was one thing to admit that you didn't necessary want children, it was another to be told that it was an impossibility, at least he had Harry waiting somewhere.

Harry. When he had first been approached by Marius, Cassiopeia and Phineas he had tried to run, to fight, he didn't want to see anyone, let alone the family who had detested him so. But he was so weak that he could hardly move and was forced to listen and he had been relieved that he had listened. They had found Harry and were looking after him. He was happy. He was safe. Sirius could see his pup soon. They had even bought photos to show him so that he could see his godson safe in the chateau, these photos lay under his pillow and were frequently taken out and stared at longingly. He had survived for Harry, he had stayed as sane as he could for Harry, he would get better for Harry.

The behaviour of his family had shocked him. His squib uncle was there as was a disinherited cousin whilst Cassiopeia had returned from France. At first he had solely believed that were doing this all for the money gained from suing the Ministry but it seemed that they were at least partially doing this for the family and for him, after all they had retrieved Harry too. It was worry and disconcerting though that they hadn't said where he was and that made Sirius suspicious, either they had kidnapped him (which seemed unlikely as there was nothing in the papers about Harry missing from someone's house) or he was not in the magical world at all.

* * *

Marius sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes, it had been five days since Sirius had been exonerated and the poor man was still suffering the aftereffects of the dementors, his hands shook as if he was suffering the aftermath of the cruciatus curse, the nerve endings in his hands were so bad that if it were not for magic, his fingers would have had to be amputated, as it was they would take several months to regain their sensitivity and feeling, it seemed likely that arthritis would plague him in older age. Sirius weighed well under 10 stone as a twenty-six year old man and it was likely that he would be on potions for a year or so and on a liquid diet for the next two weeks as he couldn't digest anything properly.

If that was not bad enough, he suffered such bad nightmares that it was necessary that someone stay with him constantly so that he did not accidentally hurt himself while thrashing around or trying to escape as he was apt to do. He had to constantly be reminded that it wasn't a dream when he was awake and he was prone to breaking down and crying frequently.

Five years. That was how long Sirius had been in prison and whilst he maintained his sanity, he had post-traumatic stress. He had not experienced life without war, even growing up at school, there had been near constant rumblings of instability and even before he graduated, there was open war and violence, letters flooding into the Great Hall of Hogwarts telling of murdered or imprisoned aunts, brothers and parents, that was how Sirius had found out about the death of Charlus and Dorea Potter, his almost adoptive parents. Upon leaving school, Sirius had gone almost straight into the Auror corps and frontline duty, Marius sighed once more, for Sirius it was going to be difficult to cope. Going from active duty to prison to then be found innocent and released into times of relative peace was going to be difficult and Marius knew that if it was not for the promise of seeing Harry, Sirius would have either committed suicide or gone mad to escape the pain and promise of more pain. Whilst in prison, he hadn't received news and had little time for mourning, how ever they were going to explain about the Longbottoms' who were permanent residences at St Mungo's due to the torture by Bellatrix, Marius didn't know. They hadn't even considered telling the man about the state they found Harry in as that would likely just cause even more anger, Sirius needed positive emotions at the moment, not thoughts of hatred, revenge and pain.

The squib sat back in his chair recalling the old World War I poem he had learned at school by Wilfred Owen which finished: 'My friend, you would not tell with such high zest/ To children ardent for some desperate glory,/ The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est/ Pro patria mori' (i). Sirius, James Potter and so many were just 'children' when they had died and suffered for and the 'desperate glory' that they had die? Well it destroyed so many lives, families and hopes and was still felt now. Marius had lived through the Great War and the World War, he knew its effects and its terror but at least the muggles had tried and mostly succeeded to build a better society from the heap of scraps and twisted buildings that remained. The magical world hadn't, Voldemort may be gone but sometimes it seemed that no-one had learned anything from the war, they continued to give children a weapon age eleven and continued to teach them hatred and that some people were better than others due to the chance of birth. Really, the magical world had not advanced nor changed much since when he was first thrown out for his lack of magic to when his sister re-introduced him. In comparison, the muggle world had changed beyond recognition and technology and society had advanced and altered. He sighed and hoped that even during his lifetime, some efforts may be made to actually improve life and society in wizarding Britain.

* * *

Just under seven days after Sirius trial and release from prison, Phineas and Cassiopeia found themselves once more waiting in the outer room of the Great Chamber of the Wizengamot. Armed with papers documenting the condition of Sirius after his illegal incarceration, the pair were out for blood, it was such a shame that Bagnold had resigned before they had managed to petition the Wizengamot for retribution.

They were both glad that Sirius was innocent, it meant there was another Black around, there were too few Blacks, oh, there were plenty with Black blood, but Sirius was the only male Black capable of being paterfamilias and being a sort of father for Harry. It had angered everyone that Sirius could no longer have children as this would have solved all their problems easily without putting too much stress on Harry as there would be one Lord Black and a different Lord Potter but there were somethings unavoidable. At any rate Harry would be brought up perfectly and be surrounded by advisers and people he could trust. Even Cassiopeia, who tended to have only a spartan face was disturbed by the condition of Sirius, Marius had been certain that he had seen tears run down her face as she watched the weak man struggle in his bed in the French hospital.

Just as before the door opened and a man entered, "The Wizengamot will see you now." the young wizard said.

Marching in together, the pair of Blacks' were reminded of their initial petition, except this time there would be a whole lot of fawning on the part of the Ministry. The temporary Minister was a man called Fudge and fortunately Cassiopeia had more dirt on him than many others, he had about as much backbone as a drunk Hufflepuff and about as much sense Cassiopeia thought, it made it all so much easier.

"Madame Black, Mr Black. Before this goes any further we, the Ministry, humbly apologise for the wrongs that have been committed against your House and family."

"We shall take your apologies into consideration however, we are sure that you understand that we are unwilling to accept them quite yet"

Half an hour later and they had finished discussing how Peter Pettigrew was going to be captured and moved onto the ruminations due to House Black for the failings of the Ministry.

"The main problems have been the family magics" Phineas stated, "All the wards that are tied to the paterfamilias are failing, these include at Black Manor and at all the other residences..."

Dumbledore stood and interrupted, "If I am not mistaken, Sirius Black was disowned by his mother, therefore cannot be paterfamilias."

Phineas looked up at the bearded man, "That is true, he cannot but any children he has can. As the sole male direct descendant he will act as Regent until such a time as his heir is off age. You act like this is unusual Chief Warlock, this is House Black, we have had more disowned members than you have had lemon drops in your life time. We are well used to this type of situation...not that you would know, I seem to remember you were not interested and perhaps are still not interested in wizarding history and culture, Chief Warlock."

If Cassiopeia was not a Black then she would have smirked, whilst a cheap shot from her cousin, it was completely true, "In light of this there is one point that we would wish to highlight." Cassiopeia said, "The healer when he performed the scans announced something rather...difficult. Sirius Black is now infertile as a result of his stay in Azkaban. Therefore we can charge the Ministry with line-theft as there is now no longer going to be a new paterfamilias from the direct family line. We are sure you can imagine the ramifications of this condition?"

Nearly everyone in the room gulped, it was bad enough that the last son of the last paterfamilias, disowned or not, had been imprisoned in Azkaban but now for him to be infertile...that was horrendous and all imagined their family in that position. Everyone was aware of the Black blood that flowed through the veins of many prominent families in wizarding Europe, it was likely to cause a huge amount of instability as people vied for control of the house and its Magics.

Fudge sighed, if he had thought that this was what his job would be as the interim Minister then he would have not put his name forward. He knew that the Ministry coffers were going to be greatly depleted but any less and it would be a very public insult to the House Black and anger the British public and the international too.

Almost whimpering he announced, "Eighteen million galleons will be paid to House Black over four years for failing to give a trial, for affecting the House magics by Ministerial failings and the medical problems that the stay in Azkaban has caused Sirius Orion Black."

Phineas and Cassiopeia smirked slightly, "We are so grateful" Phineas said, "That the Ministry has had this opportunity to rectify their mistake and I am sure that there will be no opportunities for this type of mistake to happen again."

With that the pair sauntered out of the court, leaving a hundred or so gobsmacked witches and wizards as they contemplated how this was going to change things and quite a large proportion trying to consider who was likely to become the new head of House Black, after all, they were now the one of the richest people in Britain.

* * *

 **I am sorry this is a rather draft chapter but I felt I hadn't updated anything in such a while that I would update everything before I left. Why ever I decided a research project which involved hiking through mountains for four days with no internet would be a good idea, I don't know. Anyway, I will edit this when I get back and add another chapter.**

 **However, there we go, Sirius is free but is really suffering. He will meet Harry again in the next chapter and most of that chapter will revolve around Harry's new life in France. Please read and review, as I mentioned at the start, I have not planned further than Harry's eleventh birthday so pairings and schooling are not certain yet, if you have any ideas or comments, please do say. It is always nice to see what other people think.**

 **(i) Wilfred Owen, _Dulce and Decorum est_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about all the delays in my updating, my work has been rather hectic with research papers etc. I shall try to be more regular updating (hopefully...).**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter**

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Chapter 7:

Just over a week after the three Black plotters started to see the results of their conspiracies, they all found themselves once more in the Chateau of House Black surrounded by books, family trees and papers (as well as some rather fortified coffee).

Cassiopeia lent back in her chair, "Marius, how was Sirius when you saw him this morning?"

The squib pierced his lips as he looked down to his cup and saucer, "His health is certainly better, he has recovered more feeling in his hands, and has put on a good amount of weight all things considered. Mentally though... I do not know. Those damn dementors did a good job at destroying much. I believe we should get him out of the hospital as soon as possible. He needs more structure, more routine and basically more hope. He needs to see Harry I feel."

Phineas nodded, "I agree. I think it would actually do Harry some good too. If you think about it, Sirius is going to be as close to a father as he will ever have, he needs that...they both do."

"You are both right..." Cassiopeia said as she sipped her coffee, "If the Healers say that Sirius is physically fit enough to come home with us, then he comes home. My personal healer can see to him whilst he is here and we can play 'dysfunctional family'."

Marius and Phineas both snorted at the old woman's cynical end comment, "This from 'Aunt Cassi'" Marius said.

"Well, you try listening to the boy mangle your name one to many times... Ask Phineas, 'Cassi' is better than 'Phinni'!"

"As interesting as this conversation is..." Marius started, "We have world domination plans to consider..."

Cassiopeia nodded, "Of course. I feel some lists are needed."

"Agreed. Number 1: Find a way to have Crouch gone/fired/etc."

"Good one" Phineas said as he gestured with his quill, "Number 2: Find some companions of sorts for Harry. He could do with some interaction with children his own age."

"Number 3: Think about schools" Cassiopeia said as she sat back in her chair. At this both men stopped and sighed.

"Hogwarts is asking for Dumbledore to meddle...Durmstrang would be good but it would mean Harry would be considered a dark wizard...unhelpful considering the circumstances. Beauxbatons..."

Cassiopeia interrupted her cousin, "...Beauxbatons is the only option in Europe really otherwise. It ranks higher than Hogwarts in the league tables but not as high as Durmstrang, their is a much better arts and cultural elements there than any other school. However, we should not discount Durmstrang, it would be the most private and discrete of schools for him to go to. Few people would ask questions."

"What about further abroad?" Marius asked, "I know we have never had much involvement or interaction with the schools further afield but Ilvermorny, America would be good for contacts, it is after all considered one of the more...liberal of schools."

"True" Cassiopeia mused, "As with all these things though, it is probably better we get to know the boy's character and abilities first, there would always be the option of home schooling him. We are all quite capable and could prepare him far better than if he were in large classes... Sirius would probably want him to go to Hogwarts, so let us not raise the subject with him quite yet."

"Am I the only one who feels bad for planning out the entire life of a child?" Marius asked, swirling the dregs of his coffee.

The response from both his sister and cousin came at once as Phineas said, "Yes" and Cassiopeia called "No".

When the two men looked at her, the woman shrugged. "What? It is not like we are leading him down the wrong path and we will certainly plan his life out better than anyone else. Imagine if Dumbledore had? Likely the poor boy would have apparently random tests each year to ensure he was suitable 'trained'. At any rate, we have not done anything drastic yet, only as much as every parent does for their child...except the whole 'making him a lord' thing."

"Likely true, however, we should give both Sirius and Harry a say. Otherwise they might both run away and that would put a bit of a damper on your plans." Phineas said as he settled back once more into his chair. "Anyway, we have other things to consider."

"Like what?" Cassiopeia asked, "I feel this may be one of those circumstances where it is best to go with the flow, or whatever the expression is."

Marius looked to Phineas, "We did check for polyjuice potion didn't we? Because that is certainly something I would never expect to hear from our dear Dark Lady..."

Phineas smirked, "Oh it definitely is her cousin, who else has that glare? Other than a Black of course. Might be Sirius in disguise I suppose. But you can tell a Black by their glare and a Malfoy by their sneer."

Cassiopeia sniffed, "I wonder in that case what that Malfoy boy would have, the glare or the sneer."

"Well I hope it is not a mixture of the two...that would make the boy look like he had a stick up his arse." Marius said. He promptly looked away as the infamous Black glare was fixed on him by an irritated Cassiopeia.

"We are trying to bring up a child...stop with that language."

"Overprotective guardian" Phineas said in a _sotto_ voice.

* * *

"Good morning Harry" Marius said as he entered Harry's room.

"Good morning sir." The boy in question said as he sat on the floor playing with a few soldiers. "I mean 'Uncle Marius', he corrected himself.

"How are you today?"

"Fine" Harry answered before correcting himself at Marius' raised eyebrows, "My back is a little sore but it is fine."

Marius sighed, trying to get Harry to admit he was in pain was difficult, he was getting better but it was still taking time, "We can get you some more pain potion. I think a little walk is in order, it is all very well being well but your muscles are likely stiff. A turn around the garden would do you some good."

Harry was excited, "Really, I can go outside properly, not just on the balcony?"

Marius smiled at the enthusiasm that was so different from his original condition, "As long as Mipsy goes with you then you can go outside whenever you want!"

Harry smiled, he had looked down from the balcony for the past week at the expansive gardens that twisted on for seemingly miles to his young eyes. The gardens were designed like a huge maze, that you meandered around, all Harry could think though was that they would be wonderful for games like 'Kick the Can'.

The boy was disturbed from his musings by the slightly hesitant voice of Marius, "Harry?"

"Yes, Uncle Marius?"

"Do you remember how we told you about your Godfather Sirius?"

"Yes..." Harry answered, aware of the tension that had suddenly permeated the room.

"Well, he has been very ill and is coming back from hospital today. He is still not well and he may be emotional and slightly difficult. But he really wants to see you..." Marius trailed off, unsure how to explain to a child that their godfather was mentally quite unstable and difficult.

Harry obviously had no such qualms, "So we have to look after him?"

Marius was slightly relieved at the easy to answer question, "Yes, exactly."

"Alright... When I wasn't well Mipsy would sit with me and tell me stories...Should we do that for Sirius?"

Marius wanted to chuckle at the innocence of youth but knew that it would be unfair on the boy, "He would love that. Now, shall we call Mispy and get you dressed? Once you have had breakfast I will take you out into the garden."

* * *

Sitting on the edge of his hospital bed, Sirius was almost shaking with a mixture of nerves and excitement. It was all very well that he was getting out of hospital but he was going to Chateau Black. And whilst he had to deal with his Black relatives he also got to see Harry. Truthfully, Sirius couldn't decide how best to react and respond. His bags were packed, as were several crates of potions, he would be on potions for the next three months at least and he had to see a healer twice a week. Sirius sighed, life was going to be difficult. He had trouble keeping his emotions in check and often felt like he was a pregnant woman, sometimes he was happy, other times angry, paranoid, sad; basically any point on the emotional spectrum he could experience within a very brief time period. He hated it, he hated the lack of control he had in all aspects of life, from his emotions to the shaking in his limbs from time to time to the fact he was essentially at the whims of his family for the first time in years. He had ran away to the Potters in his fifth year at Hogwarts and had really never looked back but now...well now he was back with the Blacks' again.

Looking up Sirius saw the door opened and the stern form of his Aunt Cassiopeia enter, she wasn't even his Aunt but since he was a child that was what she had been known as. Like many he was both in awe of her and terrified by her. She had more power from one book than many other families had in their entire family libraries and what she didn't know about politics and gossip wasn't really worth knowing. She could crush a man, a woman or a family as easy as one crushed a doxy.

"Good Sirius." Cassiopeia said as she saw the man sitting on the bed, "You are ready to go then." Without waiting for an answer the woman turned and gentility made her way down the corridor with Sirius following along with like a dog at the heel of its master. Briefly Sirius wondered whether he should not just make run for it, Peru sounded rather nice, or Alaska... But neither of those places had Harry and he didn't actually have a wand yet either so that was that planned scuppered. Plan two involved going to Chateau Black, finding Harry (and a wand) and running but he knew that that plan had about as much chance of success as Cassiopeia deciding she rather wanted to marry Dumbledore.

Even with Sirius slow and slightly uncontrolled pace, the pair reached the entrance of the hospital where all the floos were and Sirius was relieved to see it empty, likely Cassiopeia's doing. Following the witch's lead to the fireplace he mimicked her actions and called out 'Chateau Black'. Entering a warded house, even when one was granted permission to enter, was like trying to exit the fireplace through jelly as the layers of wards each granted entry. Chateau Black had some of the finest wards in Europe and Sirius found himself shivering as he bypassed some of the darker wards that checked intention and blood. He was glad that when he fell out of the grate, the steady arms of Phineas caught him, for by this point he was too drained to even consider moving his arms up to halt his fall.

Returning to a more conscious state twenty minutes later, Sirius found himself lying on a chaise lounge in one of the many drawing rooms of the castle with a pillow under his head and a blanket over his chest. Sirius was slightly surprised by this, he had expected that as soon as he was back in Chateau Black, the treatment he received at the hands of his family would change but at the moment he was slightly surprised although he did evaluate that it was likely not Cassiopeia who tucked him in.

His musings were interrupted by the familiar voice of Phineas from the door, "Ahh, you are more coherent then I assume?"

Sirius snorted, "As much as can be expected."

"That is good as we have someone we would like to introduce you to."

"If it is another bloody doctor I will sledge down the Matterhorn on a dinner tray to escape."

This time it was Phineas turn to snort, "Whilst I do not doubt that you would indeed try to sledge down the Matterhorn on a dinner tray I suppose I should rephrase my earlier statement. We would like to _re-introduce_ you to someone."

Sirius perked up, "Harry? Is is Harry?"

Phineas smiled as he looked at his great-great nephew, "Indeed, it is Harry."

"Where is he?" Sirius asked as he struggled to get off the chaise.

"Calm yourself. He will be here momentarily but we wanted to ensure that you were in a fit enough state to actually interact with him beyond vague moans and delusions."

Not three minutes later the door to the drawing room once more opened to reveal Cassiopeia and Marius Black who both strode into the room. Sirius watched the door avidly but after a few seconds there was still no-one new through the door despite Cassiopeia and Marius both watching it expectantly.

"Harry." Came the imperious voice of Cassiopeia, "Don't loiter in the doorway."

There came a squeaked apology from the corridor outside before a slight figure shuffled into the room looking at the ground. Sirius looked with hungry eyes at his godson, the very boy he had lived and survived for. He was small and looked rather like Lily looked at this age but with the mop of hair typical of the Potters, you could easily identify a Potter by their hair that looked like they had just come off a broom, just as one could identify a Malfoy by their blonde hair.

"It is nice to meet you, Sir." Harry said, for the first time actually looking at the man sitting on the chaise.

"Harry, I am your godfather, there is no need to call me 'sir'. It is beyond a pleasure to meet you again."

Their interaction was interrupted by the stringent voice of Cassiopeia, "Right. Now that this oh-so-touching reunion has happened can we please go and have some tea. We are already late for it."

Marius sighed, "Cassi, I know that you hate public displays of affection but really there is such a thing as being too stoic."

Cassiopeia looked at her brother and with a perfectly straight face replied, "And there is such a thing as being too Hufflepuff. However, we shall have tea and cake here as I would prefer to not have Sirius faint like a damn Malfoy on the way to the Garden Room."

The man in question felt the need to defend his honour, "Madame, I assure you that unlike my dear cousin, I see no need to associate myself with _that_ family, even through my actions. Really, I thought you knew me better."

* * *

Half an hour later found the five still having a very gentile tea with buttered scones and strawberry tarts courtesy of Mipsy. Harry had been relatively quiet throughout the conversation, preferring instead to look at the man who was once best friend's with his parents and who was now his legal guardian who still reclined on the chaise lounge.

During a lull in the conversation concerning politics Harry turned to Sirius, "Siri?"

"Yes pup?" Sirius answered with a huge smile on his face as he looked at the boy who was the spitting image of his best friend and his wife.

"Uncle Marius said you were ill. Can I look after you?" Harry asked with a very serious expression on his still too thin face

If Sirius could have, his smile would have been even wider, "Of course. I would love that."

Cassiopeia looked at Sirius, "Yes. That would be helpful. Harry, you need to make sure that Sirius take all his medicine, he may forget to take them and get ill again." Phineas and Marius smirked and appreciated the blatant manipulation, this is not to say that Sirius was unaware as to what was happening if the expression on his face (somewhere between minor betrayal and appreciation) was anything to go for.

Harry however, had not yet learned the art of manipulation, "But you must take your medicine, I took all mine, so you must take all yours. I don't want you to be ill again."

Sirius had to look away from the pouting face of his godson who had obviously not learned how effective that expression was. "Of course I shall take all my medicines. I need to teach you so many things. Like..."

Sirius was interrupted from what was sure to be a very long list by Cassiopeia. "I am sure that we can discuss Harry's education later, however for now Sirius, you need to go for a rest. Harry? Would you take Sirius up to his room, it is the suite beside you, that way you can be near each other."

And so tea ended with Harry gently leading Sirius away off towards their rooms, Sirius following like an overgrown duckling.

"Well, that went well." Marius said as he thumbed his way through a rather large law book.

"Indeed" Cassiopeia answered, "Step three is underway then. Hopefully Sirius will be well soon, I hate dealing with sick people."

"And there is the Cassi we all know and love" Phineas answered, "Ever concerned about people and their health."

"The Dark Lady strikes again..." Marius said without looking up from his book, "On a side note. Did anyone ever get round to telling Sirius about the condition that we found Harry in and indeed where we found him?"

Cassiopeia looked at Marius who looked at Phineas who looked back at Cassiopeia. "Oops?"

Phineas stood up, "Well I don't know about you but I suddenly have to go and collect something from my house in Greece. I may be a day or so, that will leave you enough time to explain everything..." With that the man disappeared out of the room towards the floo.

* * *

 **There we go. Once again if you have any thoughts about pairings or events you would like to see, please do message me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter

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Chapter 8:

 ** _Sirius Black released from hospital_**

 _We here in France, are pleased to report that Sirius Black has been released from hospital in France after his recovery from Azkaban._

 _The ICW is still in discussion as to the restrictions they plan to enforce upon Britain due to their oversights which resulted in an innocent imprisoned and tortured. So far our own representatives at the ICW have advocated for trade restrictions until the British Ministry choose to ensure that their have been no other oversights as well as the trial of ex-Minister for Magic, Bagnold and Bartimus Crouch on charges of failure to provide a trial and unfair imprisonment. The American Ministry has been most open in their anger towards Britain and have warned their own citizens about travelling to Britain due to what seems to be corruption coursing through their government. Questions have also been raised about whether Britain, which only six weeks ago had their bid for hosting the Quidditch World Cup in eight years accepted, should have this privilege revoked._

 _Whatever happens you can be sure that the ICW and our own Ministry are united in their desire to see the British Ministry freed from corruption which seems to have originated after the fall of the Dark Lord Voldemort (referred to in Britain as 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' or 'You-Know-Who'). It is expected that Sirius Black will continue to stay in France with Lady Cassiopeia Black in their family chateau, his recovery is likely to be arduous but we look forward to a time when the French wizarding community can properly welcome Black back into the fold._

* * *

The next morning found Sirius lying in bed, propped up on pillows with Harry by his side. If possible, Sirius found himself adoring the little boy more than he thought possible. Harry had obviously decided that he was the doctor (or at least carer) and so had had to be taken to bed after more than a little effort by Marius the previous evening to stop him staying in Sirius' bedroom overnight, that however, did not stop him appearing early the following morning with the potions and several books. And so the first morning that Sirius had outside of hospital began with him lying in bed with his godson carefully curled into his side reading _The Tales of Beedle the Bard._ Just as Sirius was helping Harry read the 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot', Cassiopeia's house-elf appeared in the room.

"Good morning Mipsy." Harry asked, looking up from the book.

"Young master Harry, Master Sirius. Mipsy was wondering whether you would like some breakfast?"

Seeing Harry's hopeful expression, Sirius smiled, "That would be lovely Mipsy. Bring it here please."

"Certainly master Sirius," the old elf answered before disappearing with a _crack._

Six minutes later and the elf appeared with two large trays floating over her head which she promptly directed to Sirius and Harry who still sat in the large canopied bed.

"Thank you Mispy" Harry chirped, not looking up from the large tray.

Half way through his light breakfast that comprised mainly of fruits and light breads as anything else was too much for his shrunken stomach, Sirius looked over at Harry's tray and was slightly surprised to see that he seemed to have the same type of foods and not only that had two potion vials on his tray that clearly had his godson's name on them.

"Harry?"

"Yes Siri?"

"What are the potions for?"

"Uncle Marius said the green one was to make sure I got all the nutrients I need and the pink one is to stop my back hurting."

Sirius was more than a little concerned by this answer, "Why would your back hurt?"

Harry looked down at his plate sadly, "Aunt Cassi said that Uncle Vernon hurt it when he hit me one time."

Sirius could feel the ire growing in him but he had to be certain, "And who is Uncle Vernon?"

"Uncle Vernon was married to Aunt Petunia...I lived with them until two weeks ago."

Sirius could feel the shaking in his hands getting worse as he contemplated what he knew of the shrew that was Petunia Evans. He had met her only once and from that meeting concluded that Lily's sister would get on marvelously with his mother, after all both were bigoted, self-absorbed women who cared more about their status and appearance in society than anything else.

* * *

Sitting together in the writing room, Cassiopeia and Marius had enjoyed a quiet, early breakfast before adjourning to the next room in order to prepare for the day ahead, a day that was likely to be mainly taken up with ensuring that Sirius did not fly off the handlebars nor feel the need to run away. For the squib, the task seemed almost impossible. After all, he was explaining that the very man who Sirius looked up to as a mentor and teacher had effectively ensured that the Boy-Who-Lived was cared for by abusive muggles who he never checked on.

"Perhaps he may not find out for a couple of days." Marius said hopefully, wishing he had had the good sense, like Phineas had, to ensure he was out of the house for this potential confrontation.

"CASSIOPEIA... MARIUS...PHINEAS. WHERE THE DAMN HELL ARE YOU?"

Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow. "Well there goes that idea Marius." The old woman starting massaging her temples, well knowing that this conversation was unlikely to go well.

"Please tell me we have some calming draught somewhere?" Marius asked.

"In the corner cabinet, second shelf down, somewhere behind the whiskeys I think." Cassiopeia answered gesturing to the tall mahogany cabinet which Marius quickly approached.

"Is it too early for some whiskey?" Marius pondered as he inspected a bottle of Firewhiskey that was older than he was and was most likely worth more than his car back home.

Seeing the bottle he was looking at Cassiopeia snorted. "Give me twenty minutes and I will join you. But I feel sober is the best way to have this conversation. It is going to be hard enough to tell Sirius that his godson was abused without being drunk... After though we can inspect the bottom of a whiskey tumbler together."

Retrieving the calming draught and sadly placing the amber bottle back, Marius returned to his seat in time to hear the door open behind him open.

"You better have some pretty good explanations for what is going on. I have to hear from my godson that he was abused!"

"Sirius. Sit down. You are supposed to be in bed not prancing in your pajamas like a child at Yule." Cassiopeia answered

Sirius sulked at the obvious order but threw himself onto a chair, earning him a raised eyebrow from Cassiopeia, "Sirius, there is no need to throw yourself onto the chair. Now, we have a long conversation ahead of us and I would prefer it if you did not interrupt. Once we have finished then you can ask whatever you have failed to understand. Understand?" Receiving a reluctant nod from Sirius, she continued, "Good. Sirius, the House Black was in a dire state and so I approached Marius and Phineas asking for help. As you know there was no Lord or Heir to speak of after you were imprisoned so we had to find one. The next in line after you should have been your brother but he was dead. After him it would have been any child of Andromeda but she was disowned, then any children of Bellatrix but she was imprisoned, then any children of Narcissa. We had a...strong desire to avoid a Malfoy becoming Heir and Lord so we looked a bit further. As a Auror you had to update your will relatively frequently which played into our hands as you named Harry Potter, as your godson, heir to all your property, the ambiguity meant that technically we could say that Harry was therefore heir to House Black." Seeing Sirius about to interrupt she held up a finger and continued, "I know that you think that you were disowned, that bit is true but through an oversight your own personal heir was not exempt from the line of succession so long as they were a descendant of the Black family. Once we found this out, we decided Harry would make a good heir who could bring House Black back to her former glory with a bit of guidance."

Here Sirius was not able to contain himself, "You are using him..." He never got to finish his sentence as he was interrupted by Cassiopeia.

"Yes. And we are using you. What does it matter? We are giving him a good education and life, we are not throwing him to the sharks of our society by allowing him to not be ready. He was living with muggles. Muggles. What could they teach him of family magics? Of life? Of politics? Of law? Of the press? Imagine if he had come in not understanding how our society works, he would be torn to shreds, not least because of his status as the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. We are protecting him, from those who would use him and those who would try to kill him. It is not as though we are going to be subjecting him to any torture other than etiquette lessons."

Sirius found it hard to find an argument against what she was telling him very firmly and so, remembering his original reason for pulling himself from his bed he looked once more at Cassiopeia. "He was abused. What happened to him?"

Here Marius took up the tale, leaning forward and pushing the calming draught across the low table to Sirius, "Sirius. It wasn't good. He was living with his muggle aunt, Petunia, her husband, Vernon and their son, Dudley in Surrey. They treated him like a slave, he lived in a cupboard, wore hand-me-downs from his cousin who is already obese, he did chores in the garden, cooked breakfast, did the washing... Punishments were harsh. We didn't know until I visited, then we immediately made a decision to retrieve him and bring him here, we were a little late though and Dursley had already damaged Harry's back such that he was basically only surviving on his magic. I know you do not want to hear this but Dumbledore placed him there, left him in a basket on their doorstep at the start of winter, we found the letter he left Petunia, asking that they look after Harry."

Sirius' expression had grown more and more devastated as Marius spoke and half way through he had downed the potion vial and was rubbing his face in his hands, "Why would he do that? Lily was clear in her will that Harry was never to go to Petunia. It was me, then the Longbottoms, then Andromeda, then the Bones."

Marius replied gently trying to break their suspicions to Sirius, "I am sorry Sirius, likely he thought he was going it for the good of the wizarding world. If he grew up outside of the wizarding world then he would not be a self-absorbed, spoiled boy. Voldemort isn't dead. He will return and who do you think he will come after, being Lord Black or at least Heir Black gives Harry another layer of protection... Sirius, we have to think of the future, of Harry's future and if teaching him how to manage his situation is the best way then we must accept it. Do you think I would have come back to the family that once left me because I never received a letter, or stayed once I heard the plans? I came because Harry is our future but he deserves to be that future surrounded by people he can trust completely, not just sycophantic morons nor people who will turn on him the minute something goes wrong."

Sirius smirked, "If I ever needed proof you were a damn lawyer, that speech would have provided it." The man's worn face turned solemn once more as he looked between the siblings, "You really do mean this don't you?"

Cassiopeia nodded gently, "I have put my future in Harry and wish to aid him."

Marius snorted, "What she means to say is that Harry calls her 'Aunt Cassi' and Phineas, 'Uncle Phinni'." He received a glare in return that would have cowed Dumbledore, not that this deterred Sirius from chuckling slightly.

"Can I call you that? Marius, you could be 'Uncle Mari' and have a complete set of names."

"Call me that and you will be wishing you were back in Azkaban quicker than you can finish the name. Now please can we return to the matter at hand?"

"Of course." Marius said as he wondered over to the drinks cabinet and retrieved two tumblers and a bottle.

"Ooo" Sirius exclaimed as he plucked the bottle out of Marius hand and inspected it.

"No." Cassiopeia replied shortly, "You are on mediation, have been in hospital for two weeks and had little enough brain matter before you became housemates with dementors."

"...Please?"

"No."

"Fine" Sirius said sulkily as he handed over the bottle to Marius who poured a generous measure into two glasses and handed one over to his sister. "Now, what are your plans for me? You have great plans for Harry, so am I allowed to know what those are too?"

Cassiopeia sipped a little of the whiskey, "We have no plans for you, we weren't sure what state you would be in so we expected the worst, it was a pleasant surprise that you are capable of rational speak. Basically we need you there for Harry, to bring Harry up in the best way possible. There is no need for you to play politics or anything of that ilk."

Sirius was surprised, he had sort of been expecting that he would have been required to enter the Wizengamot or play nice to a lot of stuck up pure bloods. "Right, so all I have to do is do what I intended to do?"

"Yes."

"Nice to know you expect so much from me." Sirius muttered

"Well for all we knew you would have been a drooling mess who was incapable of walking in a straight line let along thinking." Cassiopeia answered looking with a challenging glint in her grey eyes. "Now, speaking of the boy, where is Harry?"

Sirius dismissively waved a hand, "Oh, Mipsy is playing with him. I should probably go find him." With that Sirius tried to stand but promptly fell back into his chair, limbs shaking, as his previous energy vanished. Cassiopeia and Marius looked at the man.

"Mipsy!" Cassiopeia called out as Sirius groaned slightly, when the elf appeared she spoke to her, "Can you take my moron of a cousin back to bed, if necessary tether him to it? Whatever he was thinking getting out of bed, I shall not know."

Soon Mipsy vanished with the weakened form of Sirius in tow and Cassiopeia and Marius were once more left to their peace and solitude.

"That went well I think" Marius commented, swigging some more of the firewhiskey.

He received a sideways look from Cassiopeia, "I suppose, but there is still much to explain and much to do. I need to go and find some blackmail concerning the new Minister for Magic. Care to join me?"

Marius smirked, "What, care to see you intimidate, bribe and spy on people to gain information about notable and important people of the world? Wouldn't miss it for anything, dear Dark Lady."

* * *

 _Dear Aunt Cassiopeia,_

 _It is not common for you to appear in Britain in recent years, yet in the past month you have appeared three times, all of which have been for House Black. Whether or not you believe me or trust me I felt it was important that I show my affiliations. Whilst I may have married into, had a child with and love a member of House Malfoy, my primary concern is for House Black._

 _Whilst I cannot speak for the intentions of my husband, I wish to assure you that any overtures of friendship and familial affection I make in public are true. As I have mentioned, Lucius's beliefs are his own but I am sure that you will, as ever, cope with anything that he may throw at you, whether that be slander or lawsuits, or indeed overtures of friendship. I know not what your plans are for, for as I recall, Sirius cannot become Lord of our House but I assume that you do have plans and whilst I do not ask to be privy to them I would ask that you at least consider me to be an ally in the future._

 _Ever yours,_

 _Narcissa Malfoy_

 _Toujours le Coeur Pur_

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this, please say if you see any mistakes, my Beta is unable to check over my work for the next few weeks so sorry if you see any mistakes, I shall edit again in a couple of days just to check. Thank you, F200x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

It was not often that Cassiopeia Black found herself completely unsure of how to precede. She was not one to doubt herself nor second guess her choices yet in this incidence she seemed to be going around in circles examining and reexamining motives and responses. Upon receiving the missive from her great niece, Narcissa, her first response had been to snort (elegantly) in derision and throw the parchment in the fire but the more she thought about it the more she found herself rethinking this reaction. As far as she could remember and indeed, was concerned, Narcissa was a vapid creature, thinking more about her appearance and status that anything else but the last time she had seen the girl was at her wedding to the mincing peacock, Malfoy.

Indeed however, as Cassiopeia saw it, it was entirely possible that the war and having a child had altered Narcissa's outlook on life. After all, her husband had been among the inner circle of Voldemort and then had to pay a huge amount of money to avoid spending a very long amount of time in Azkaban. Aware as she was that people could change, Cassiopeia did not want to miss the opportunity to bring members of the House Black back into the fold, whether they were still called that now or not, Andromeda and Narcissa could be a valuable start if they were treated correctly.

But at the same time Cassiopeia could not deny the fact that Narcissa could well be pushing for her son to become Lord Black in time. And if Narcissa was so inclined then that suggested that Lucius was involved too. Any way she looked at it she seemed to draw blank after blank and Cassiopeia did not like those situations. Sure she could blackmail nearly every member of the Wizengamot if necessary but what did it matter at the moment, naturally she had dirt on Narcissa but that meant nothing if used at the wrong time. If the girl was honest in her overtures of friendship then blackmailing her would only cause further rifts and likely cause her to revoke her assistance. If the chit had written for more nefarious purposes then it was not going to help anyway.

"Cassiopeia? Cassi?" Came Phineas' voice from the other side of the room as he entered the door, "Are you alright?"

"I am fine cousin. Just wrangling with a problem."

Phineas sighed as he came further into the room and seated himself on a large wing-back chair by the fire, "Is this to do with the Narcissa letter." Hearing no reply he continued, "What are you stuck with, surely the answer is simple?"

"Simple!" Cassiopeia exclaimed as she looked at her cousin, "This is a huge matter. What if she wants to garner favour so that we would support her son's claim? What if she is gathering information for that clot, Lucius? What if..."

Here Phineas interrupted sharply, "And what if she was being honest? Likely her married life hasn't been the fairytale lifestyle that the girl imagined when she was thirteen, you know as well as I that she has not had any other children, likely that has put a strain on her marriage. She had to deal with Voldemort for the first years of her married life. The chances are that the girl that you remember is gone. You and I know that Cygnus and Druella spoiled her as she was the only one of their children who wasn't crazy nor married a muggleborn, she was supposed to be the perfect daughter, the one who marries a damn Malfoy, bringing together the two most powerful dark houses in Britain. Well, I believe that girl will have vanished as quickly as her innocence. For Hecate's sake Cassiopeia! What does it matter if she is gathering information or trying to get her son to be Lord Black, how much harm can she do? Even with her husband's support we are legally in the right and no amount of money will change that. And what if she actually wants to see her House restored? Would you deny her that based on suppositions about her character from ten years ago? If I did that do you think I would have ever left Greece to come here? Get over your damn need to micromanage everything Cassi and use this to your advantage. The family oaths would stop her from airing our dirty laundry and the skeletons in the closet and we may well gain another supporter who is in the best place to reintroduce House Black to it's rightful state. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go and see Marius. Good morning Cassiopeia."

With that, Phineas stood and quickly left the room leaving a thoroughly chastised Cassiopeia behind him. With a sigh Cassiopeia reflected upon her cousin's words, it was not often that the man raised his voice yet when he did it was clear to all that a Black he was. House Oaths were among the strongest oaths in magic and the older the family the stronger the oaths tended to be as the generations of people bound by them swelled the magic. For House Black it was relatively simple, House secrets were just that, secrets, to all but the family. Originally intended to avoid knowledge of family scandals slipping into the public domain they bound all members of House Black, protecting them from mind magics at the same time. No member of House Black could now speak or communicate the family secrets without the permission of the paterfamilias and now that there wasn't one, there was little chance of anything being revealed until a new one ascended the title. Reflecting on his words, she could find no fault in his argument nor the telling-off he gave and so with a second sigh, Cassiopeia Black walked over to her writing desk and picked up a quill.

* * *

 _Dear Narcissa,_

 _I will admit that your letter caused a considerable quandary for me as I had reason to doubt both your intentions and desires in picking up your quill. I write now, not to Narcissa Malfoy but to Narcissa Black, daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black. As you are well aware our House has fallen and it is my wish to see it restored to the point when sharing our surname does not cause fear nor anger. You are right, I cannot intimate the plans that we have formed here in France to you, at least not in a letter. Bound as you are by the House Oaths we request that you travel over to Chateau Black to visit with us so that we can meet with you in person and discuss your motives and beliefs. I am sure that you can find a reason to travel to Paris in the near future, upon arrival there go to the 'émeraude étoiles' cafe and ask to speak to me, as I own it, it will be easy to discreetly floo to and from. Owl me with the date you intend to arrive._

 _I hope that you are in good health, we do not need another member of the family to die._

 _Cassiopeia Black_

 _Toujours le Cœur Pur_

In a large Elizabethan country house in England, Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black stood by a large window reading the missive from her great aunt once, twice, thrice and sighed. It was as good as she could ever have hoped or expected, they were prepared to trust cautiously and they would have been fools not to do so.

"Cissa? Are you alright?" Came the voice of her husband from the door to her study behind her.

Narcissa turned rolling the stiff parchment back up as she faced her husband. She formed her face into a smile, "Fine, just a reply from Lady Parkinson about the St Mungo's gala. She feels we should widen the invitation list."

"Who else could we invite? Half of Britain is invited already. Just ignore the damn thing, if they are worried about not raising enough money then I am sure that we can make a bigger public donation, positive press is never a bad thing."

"Indeed husband." Narcissa said, tucking the letter into a drawer of her desk. "Should we head through for tea, I believe that Strawberry tarts were made for Draco?"

"A good idea." With that Narcissa Malfoy took the arm of her husband and left the room and the letter behind.

* * *

Sirius Black found himself once more in bed, a fact that pleased him about as much as Dumbledore when faced with the prospect of wearing only plain black robes. After his collapse the man had been confined to bed with strict instructions to Mipsy that if he were to put so much as one foot outside his bed without assistance he was to be put under a sleeping spell. A sleeping spell usually used for teething toddlers, that wasn't degrading at all. The only good thing about the whole thing was that it ensured that he got to spend more time with his adorable little godson who was more than a little annoyed at him. Harry's face when he was apparated back to his bed that morning was likely supposed to be incredibly vexed and upset, the reality was that it was a pout that could break McGonagall's heart. And so the raven haired little boy had taken it upon himself to ensure that his newly found godfather did not so ill again.

At present Sirius was busy explaining the rules of Quidditch to an enthralled Harry. It seemed that in their explanation and education on the magical world to Harry, the three old Blacks' had failed to explain the important things in life, like Quidditch, Chocolate Frogs' and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans'. It seemed to Sirius that the topics of wizarding sport and wizarding sweets worked well together, Mipsy had therefore been sent to fetch a large collection of wizarding sweets, these were then used as part of a diagram to explain the complexities of a game of Quidditch.

"...and so if the Quaffle drops below this height" The elder invalid pointed to a suspiciously vomit coloured Bertie Bean then most players leave it to fall to the ground and if it does it is out of play and the referee..." Here Sirius pointed to a pumpkin pasty "...places it back in the centre of the field. All good so far?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, enthralled by this game with broomsticks, "Can only the chasers throw the quaffle? Or can the searcher?"

"Seeker, is that what you mean?" Sirius continued seeing Harry's slight blush and nod, "Yes, now that is called a 'Stoge game' after a Seeker who got so bored looking for the snitch that he started playing as a fourth chaser. It is not used so much now...or at least I don't think it is... brooms got so much faster that games tend to be much quicker now so the matches tend to be shorter..." And so Sirius continued his rather rambling monologue about the finer points of Quidditch to the enthralled boy, both of them tucked up in the large canopy bed with a floating model of a Qudditch game in front of them made out of sweets.

* * *

 _ **Bagnold and Crouch to stand trial under ICW**_

 _In a very quick turnaround, the British Ministry has agreed to hand over the disgraced Bagnold and Crouch for trial. Under increased international pressures it was perhaps unsurprising that this decision was reached however the change in their decisions has led many to suspect a coverup by the British Ministry. Bagnold has been succeeded by Cornelius Fudge, a relatively young man who has promised that the mistakes and oversights of his predecessor shall be reversed and that "under his leadership there would be trials for all those in Azkaban [_ the British Wizarding prison _] and inquires into all departments of government."_

 _If Bagnold and Crouch are found guilty, they could be sentenced to life sentences in the Bemuda Jail. Constructed in 1853, the Bemuda Jail is the strongest prison in the world, with wards so tight that they have been known to disrupt Muggle or Mundane technology, it serves as the official prison for the ICW. The trial will be held in Switzerland in four days time, presided over by an international jury. As can be expected, this trial will be of particular interest to many and will be well covered across the world._

* * *

"Phineas?" Cassiopeia called to her cousin who was sitting at a desk in the Drawing Room examining a very long piece of parchment. "What has you so engrossed? I have been calling you for the past few minutes."

Phineas sighed before smirking slightly as he contemplated the reaction that his explanation would cause to his two cousins who stood behind him. "I have just finished a rather large piece of research and was considering what to do with it."

Marius sat down with a huff on one of the large wingback armchairs that were dotted around the room, "Care to explain the research?"

Phineas face turned devious once more, "It is a rather long study on why magic occurs in certain people and not in others. So in essence why their are squibs in pureblood families and wizards in muggle ones."

The two siblings both raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" Marius asked, "Care to elaborate?"

"You are aware of course that most squibs in pureblood families are...encouraged into the muggle world. Well, Magic is what muggles would term a 'recessive gene'. If a squib starts a family with another muggle then there is a chance that that recessive gene would be passed down to any children, but they themselves would not have Magic because it is a recessive characteristic. Now, further down the family tree, what would happen if a descendant of a squib married the descendant of another squib? You would end up with two recessive genes and therefore a child with Magic. This was part of what we discovered that every single so called 'muggleborn' can trace their ancestry eventually back to two squibs."

"B...but..." Cassiopeia stuttered slightly, eyes wide with shock as she considered the revelation, "but that means that there is no such thing as 'muggleborns', they are simply very distant purebloods."

"Exactly..."

"Oh lord..." Marius muttered as he rubbed his face with his hands, "Please say your name won't be on the paper when it is published? The aristocracy of wizarding Britain are going to _adore_ you. "

Phineas snorted whilst Cassiopeia looked rather horrified. "It gets better" Phineas stated as he riffled through a few pages of parchment, "As I have mentioned the existence of squibs was the other thing I was looking at."

"And?" Marius asked, naturally more than a little interested in this particular piece of research.

"This is slightly more complicated. Imagine Magic as lots of little strands, with each family's magic then when two families intermarry then their child has a mixture of those particular strands. Continuing with our metaphor, over time the Magic behind each family becomes a plait of sorts, this is fine and natural. However, when a family marries someone of close blood then the Magic behind any child resulting from this union has to sort of fight itself as it it too close and so the Magic is almost a knot, a disorganised mess that means that a child is no longer attuned with Magic or at least has a weak core as they are not so inter-tuned with it. Marius. Each of us three here is the product of years and centuries of this intermarrying between our own families, you being a Squib was as likely as Cassiopeia being a Squib, but misfortune would have it that you were not able to access your core."

Marius was silent as he heard the reasons for his lack of magic and eventual expulsion from the magical world, his sister looked at him with sad eyes and, in a rather uncharacteristic move lent over and, grasping his hand, squeezed it slightly to show that she was there for him.

"You said that they could have 'weak cores' from this intermarrying?" Cassiopeia asked, trying to give Marius a moment to gather himself and his thoughts.

Phineas, glad for the distraction continued his discussion, "Yes. I think the best example in Britain would be the Crabbe and Goyle families, they have had a long history of marrying into families like the Parkinsons and Bulstrodes every couple of generations and indeed each other. Their Magic is weak and with each generation it will decline, eventually until they are all Squibs and the line likely dying out."

Marius visibly seemed to shake himself from his thoughts, deciding to reflect upon everything later when he had more time, "What can be done about it? Surely we were doomed from the start as eventually all the lines will intermarry?"

"Theoretically yes. But you have to remember that that is a long time away. Think of all the lines that have apparently died out through the centuries, if even half of them had a Squib descendant at some point then it is likely that eventually that line would return to the Magical world. At any rate, Britain is the worst in terms of marrying within the family. It would only take someone from Britain marrying a French witch to introduce a whole other Magic line. It would only take a law that no-one could marry into a family that is related as closely as fourth cousins then it would all be fine. If you look at our family tree at the moment then we have to ensure that Harry marries a witch from a different country or at least someone who is a muggleborn then it is fine. Our research also suggests, but this is a more tenuous link, that Magic is stronger in a child when the maternal and paternal lines are completely unrelated. Look at the Nymphodora girl, she is a metamorphmagus, is it by chance that she is the result of a marriage between a muggleborn and a pureblood?"

Cassiopeia groaned, "Where is that damn bottle of Firewhiskey?"

"I think we finished the last one." Marius stated as he stood and wandered off to find one of the many drinks cabinets that seemed to populate every room of the castle. Eventually finding one he pulled out an optimistically full bottle and a trio of glasses before returning to the table and distributing the amber liquid in large measures.

Taking a gulp he asked Phineas, "Who commissioned this study?"

"No-one really. I started the initial research as part of my work for the Greek Ministry and then after some interesting results it became the pilot study and I was allowed funding for a larger study. I am the only person who has really seen all the data and results."

"And what, pray tell, do you plan to do with it?" Cassiopeia asked rubbing her temples slightly to ease the headache she was sure was about to erupt within her head.

"If you recall, cousin mine, that was where this discussion originally came from."

"No need to be snarky." Marius muttered, "Shock does that to people, particularly the elderly."

"I am not old brother." Cassiopeia growled.

Keen to avoid the potential fight of wits about to erupt between his cousins, Phineas continued in a loud voice, "Anyway...as I was saying. There are several options. First, I publish it anonymously. Second, I give it to the ICW who would, I am sure, formally commission a much larger study. Third, I do nothing but try to spread the idea."

Marius considered the options, "They all have positives, if you, as a member of House Black, were to publish this then it will likely cause half the great families of Europe to drop dead from shock. The ICW bureaucracy would cause problems I am sure and publishing it anonymously would cause people to question the legitimacy of it."

"Marius is right." Cassiopeia considered, "

"What if...?" Marius started before stopping and sitting back in his chair.

"What if what?" Cassiopeia

"No, it was a fool's thought... I was just wondering whether it would not be good to approach the goblins with your study. Whilst they care not for the affairs of the wizarding world, they care for its gold. All those vaults of the lost families sit deep within London without being opened, full of artifacts, knowledge and gold. A muggleborn, could potentially be able to access them, your study gives them a reason. The goblins have much to gain if they use this information astutely. Apart from anything else, the goblins love nothing better than seeing wizards running around like a headless chicken..."

"That...that isn't a bad idea." Cassiopeia mused, getting more excited as she talked, "The goblins would make a fortune out of the deal. What is the deal with the Grecian government, Phineas?"

"There isn't one, we are given money for research work but the work remains ours unless explicitly stated otherwise, I have all rights to the research at the moment."

"So many possibilities..." Cassiopeia stated as she stood from her chair, "Excuse me a minute, I need to go and find some books on goblin etiquette, it seems a visit to Gringotts is in order." With that Cassiopeia marched out of the room, followed by the eyes of her brother and cousin.

"I worry about Cassi." Marius mused, "Some day all this power is going to get to her and then, boom, the Dark Lady arises in a swathe of silk."

"And what would her goals be?" Phineas responded, "Etiquette lessons for all children under the age of seventeen?"

"Enunciation lessons?"

"Instruction in blackmailing?"

"Banning any music by that group 'The Weird Sisters'?"

"Everyone sitting down for a formal tea at 4.15 every afternoon?"

"Removing the ban on flying carpets?"

"Really life would be so much better if she was just the Dark Lady..."

Marius sighed, "I agree. I don't suppose there is any point trying to nudge her in that direction?"

Phineas echoed his cousin with another sigh, "Probably not. Maybe we should start calling her Napoleon or Attila the Hun."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please do say if you have any ideas or comments. F200x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter**

Chapter 10:

Cassiopeia was a woman on a mission and Phineas and Marius were forced to trail in her wake as she stormed down Diagon Alley towards the iconic structure of Gringotts. Like the parting of the Red Sea the patrons of Diagon Alley stared at the trio who appeared seemed so far above the patrons of the shopping district, from the dress to their attitude that no-one dared to approach them.

Entering the building, Cassiopeia saw there were no free tellers and nodded to Phineas who immediately strolled over to an unopened desk and rapped sharply on it, attracting the attention of the goblin walking behind it.

"What?"

"We pay you to handle our gold...not question us. Now get us our account manager!" Phineas snarled as he leaned over the desk.

"And who should I say has arrived." The goblin said with a mocking tone to his voice although the three Blacks' could see the respect growing in his eyes.

"The Elders of the Black Clan. And that we want to see him with his full account ledgers in the next six minutes."

The goblin snorted but was quickly interrupted by Marius, "Well now that is five minutes and fifty seconds. Off you go."

Fifty seconds later a different goblin came around the desk, "If you would follow me to a meeting room."

Two minutes later found them sitting in a meeting room in three distinctly comfortable chairs and being offered refreshments.

Cassiopeia snorted elegantly, "If we wanted a damn tea party then I would have stayed at home. Now, go and get my account manager now."

A minute after the second goblin left the first returned with a new goblin, this latter was obviously rather important, dressed as he was in a smart suit with a chain of office bearing the Black family crest on his chest. His gravelly tones filled the office,

"It is not a regular occurrence to find three legitimate Black's in the same room at the same time as it once was."

Cassiopeia smirked, "Gripspur, a pleasure as always. May your gold ever multiply."

"And your enemies die at your blades." Said Gripspur finishing the traditional greeting, "And now, I am sure we have a plethora of items to cover. What can Gringotts' help you with?" He asked taking a seat in the chair behind the great oak desk and nodding to the first goblin who stood ready to take notes.

"I am sure." Cassiopeia started, "That you are aware of my brother, Marius, who was expelled from the community for his lack of magic. He, I hope, can start the ball rolling."

Raising his eyebrows, Marius looked at his sister who gestured with her head for him to continue, "Fine. As I am sure you are aware, until a few weeks ago, the Black family lacked a Lord or an heir apparent. The release of Sirius Black the III does not help per say as he was removed from the succession line. Their were two options of course, Draco Malfoy or Harry Potter, we had rather an opinion on who we would prefer as both technically could claim the heirship."

Here the old goblin interrupted, "But Sirius III's will prioritises the Potter heir as he is godson... A clever game. And Sirius will not have children now?"

Phineas answered, "He is not able to, the effects of Azkaban."

"Hmmm." Gripspur lent back in his chair. "I take it that you have gained control of the esteemed 'Boy-Who-Lived'?"

"What do you take us for?" Cassiopeia mocked, "We are Black's, not pathetic halfwit Malfoys."

"Who is the magical guardian for the boy then?"

"We don't know. It is dependent on the Potters' will, if guardianship went to Sirius as godfather then it is still his, as Sirius was never formally charged then the roll of guardian would not have changed."

"Is Dumbledore aware of the removal of the Potter heir from his muggle place of residence?"

"We assume so although we hid our tracks behind the plethora of muggle protection laws. Even if he was to search all he would find was that a policeman became concerned about the condition of the boy and had called social services, there isn't a name on the case files as Harry is underage." Marius said, rubbing his face. "I am keeping an eye on the situation through some muggle connections so if anyone does dig too deep we shall know. We made it look like he had been adopted abroad, therefore out of the British muggle and wizarding legal system."

The goblin nodded, "I shall commune with the Potter family representative and we shall consider the matter, there may be some things that we can do to ensure that the boy remains hidden for another few years. If this can be pulled off then it will mean the union of the Black and Potter wealth which is not something to be avoided."

"Gripspur?" Phineas started, aware that this may well make them very popular among the money-driven people, "We have a proposition for you."

"Oh?"

"My line of research for the past few years has been magic, where it comes from, how it can be in some muggle families and not others and how squibs exist... I came to some conclusions that we thought you may be interested in, namely that every so-called 'muggle-born' is directly descended from a squib line. Now, imagine if Gringotts' performed a lineage test on a muggle-born and found that they were descended from, for instance the Fawley line, a line that officially became extinct within this past decade, from a squib, oh, six generations back. Then all those lovely, full vaults that you can't open because the families they belong to, no longer exist can be opened. I am sure that if you tested all the muggle-borns in Hogwarts or the Ministry then you will be able to open the majority of those sealed vaults."

The goblin taking notes dropped his sheet of parchment and stared at his superior whose mouth had fallen open a little, he coughed slightly, "I take it you have proof of these...claims?"

Cassiopeia smirked behind her hand, knowing their plan had worked and she watched in amusement as her cousin slid the bound sheaf of parchments across the goblin who opened it tentatively. A few moments flicking through it and Gripspur looked up coughing slightly as he regained his composure, "Well, I think that I need to meet with a few colleagues before I can say anything but we thank you for bringing this to our attention." He stood, "I shall contact you when I have spoken to Goldfang, the Goblin for House Potter so that we may arrange another meeting."

With that clear dismissal the three Blacks' left the room smirking at the stream of rapid Gobblededook that emanated the room as soon as the doors started to close.

"Well I think that was rather successful." Cassiopeia stated as she started towards the exit, "We need to pick up some proper tea before we leave England, we are running low of Earl Grey and I do so hate having anyone else choosing the blends for me." With that she started towards Whimsic Alley followed by her brother and cousin who carefully rolled their eyes at each other behind her back.

* * *

 **Sorry this is so short (and late) I was running a little low on inspiration (and time), message me if you have any ideas or characters you would like to see introduced. We should have some more Harry and Sirius next chapter whenever I can get that finished. F200x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

Striding down Whimsic Alley followed by her brother and cousin, Cassiopeia was in deep contemplation. It was tiring having to plan three or four moves in advance constantly but it was necessary to avoid any surprises and while matters appeared to be proceeding as necessary for the moment that guaranteed nothing. Whilst giving Phineas' research paper to the goblins had bought them their good graces, the public response it would garner was a problem. It would completely shift the power balance to the point that she was sure that the political system would be unrecognisable as in essence it allowed all these lost families to gain back their vaults would allow them to gain back their seats on the Wizengamot. With the last Wizarding War deep routed prejudices and the stranglehold that Dumbledore had on learning on Hogwarts, Cassiopeia had no doubt that a large proportion of them would firmly plant themselves in the Light Block of the Government and this was a bit worrying. Whilst Dumbledore would likely be against this lineage testing by the goblins, he would soon change his tune if his backing within the Light Block suddenly increased dramatically. She snarled, something had to be done and quickly, otherwise everything would go to pot.

Behind her Marius and Phineas exchanged glances, they could almost see the cogs whirling in their companion's mind and were greatly concerned.

"Cassiopeia?" Marius started, "We have passed the tea house, is there some where you would like to go first?"

Looking behind her, the lady rolled her eyes at her brother's unsubtle attempts to not attract her potential ire, "My apologies, I find myself distracted by the situation. To the tea house then!"

Entering the wonderfully scented shop Cassiopeia approached the young man at the till whose worn face seemed almost out of place among the finery that surrounded them.

"May I help you?" The shop assistant asked, looking up from the account book he seemed to be filling out.

"Yes." Cassiopeia answered, eyes wandering over the large urns filled with teas behind him, "May I have five galleons of Gyokuro green tea, three galleons of Earl Grey, oh and throw in a galleon worth of Lady Grey please."

The man nodded and turned to pull urns off the shelf before carrying them to the back of the shop where a set of scales were prepared.

"Lupin?" Phineas muttered quietly when the man had turned to head towards the back of the shop floor.

"What was that?" Cassiopeia asked, turning to her brother.

"The name badge? It read Lupin. When Sirius used to write to me from school he always talked about himself, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and a Lupin, I am afraid I cannot now remember the first name. I can not decide if he could be a relation or the actual boy that Sirius shared a dorm with for seven years."

Cassiopeia looked to the back of the shop where the man in question was weighing out different blends, "I do wonder what side he fell on. Lupin is an old name from about two generations back, the son married a muggle and was involved considerably with the anti-creature legislation about twenty-five years ago."

Phineas looked between the his two cousins, "Well, we do not know what terms Sirius and this Lupin were on during the war. We cannnot presume that they would still be friends, do not forget that Sirius was in prison for the murder of Pettigrew and betrayal of the Potters until last month."

Cassiopeia scoffed, "I wasn't going to just adopt the man like some sort of dog in the hopes he may help Sirius feel better. I shall speak to some people and see whether this Lupin is indeed the Lupin from Sirius' year and then see what their relationship was like."

Marius laughed, "Yes Phineas, never doubt the Dark Lady! Do remember, dear cousin, that we are always steps behind our dear leader and we are but pawns for her plans."

Phineas smirked too, "You are right of course, I had overestimated my value; I shall, of course, avoid such a situation again."

A voice interrupted their teasing quips, "Ma'am?" the shop assistant said as he placed three brown paper bags onto the counter, "Was that everything?"

"Indeed, nine galleons all together then?" Cassiopeia answered, pulling her purse from a pocket in her robes.

"...Yes." Lupin answered, watching the three carefully.

As the Lady Black handed over the gold coins she looked carefully at the man, "May I inquire as to your first name, I knew a Lupin a generation or two ago?"

If it were possible the young man looked more cautious, "My name is Remus Lupin, ma'am?"

"Are you any relation to Rudyard Lupin then?"

"My grandfather was called Rudyard, yes."

Cassiopeia nodded carefully, "Well, it was interesting to meet you, I was not close to John but met him a few times at Ministry functions. I hope that the rest of your day goes well."

With that the lady strode out of the shop with her two companions leaving behind a rather concerned Remus Lupin, who had naturally recognised the three Black elders who had been pictured frequently since they had demanded the trial and subsequent release of one Sirius Orion Black the Third.

* * *

Whilst his older relatives had visited Gringott's and gone shopping, Sirius had found himself once more relegated to his bed. This was not to say he wasn't grateful, he felt weaker than a niffler with a cold really and it meant that he got to spent even more time with Harry. After their discussion of Quidditch yesterday, they had moved onto stories of his time at Hogwarts' with James and Remus, the animagus wasn't exactly holding back and told all the best stories, from the time they switched all the classrooms about including put the potions' classroom in the divination tower to the time when they persuaded the house elves to only serve chocolate at all meals for a full week, how the amazing little creatures managed to make chocolate look like bacon or sprouts he would never know. Through them all, Harry was entranced and listened with rapt attention and, more often that not, mouth open with amazement or giggling profusely.

It was only after his godson had fallen asleep on the large bed that Sirius pulled out the folders that lay on his bedside table left by Cassiopeia. Contained in the folders was enough information to catch the man up on the social, political and economic changes that had occurred whilst he had been imprisoned, from the new births within the nobility to the new laws concerning the warding of wizarding properties they managed to catch him up reasonably well. Sirius was well aware that each of the folders, one for every year, were part of the resources that Cassiopeia used to manage her informational and shadow political empire, the mixture of newspaper cuttings and sheets of parchment they were an invaluable aid that he was quite grateful for.

Sifting through them it was immediately apparent that there were still ongoing tensions from the war that simmered beneath everything, this was the thing that concerned Sirius the most. Whilst he accepted that the war, which affected each and every member of his society, would not simply vanish now the leader of one side had disappeared, he had at least hoped that some progress had been made towards creating a balance and harmony. Sirius scoffed slightly as he read many of the new policies from the Ministry that further condoned and condemned any use of blood magic and relegated many more magic types to illegal status. Despite the fact that he had left his family and taken refuge with the Potters', it was not the magic that he objected to most about his previous life but the family, particularly his mother. Sure, he didn't agree with the ancient blood rites that required the use of a virgin's blood but that wasn't to say that every Samhain he didn't think that partaking in a familial ritual circle, that required the use of a couple of drops of one's own blood, should be illegal and punishable with Azkaban. To brand an entire branch of magic illegal was horrendous as to say that someone had a dark or light core was not to say that they were inherently bad or good but to say that they were stronger at one branch of magic or another. Sirius himself had a neutral core that leaned more towards the darker spectrum, he was not going to pretend that he understood this whole concept when he was younger but the years in prison had affected him deeply and he had talked to the younger Lestrange brother whilst there to distract each other and had learned a lot.

Sirius closed the last folder and put it back on his bedside table and looked over at his godson who was curled up against his side. Hearing a chime he groaned,

"Harry? Harry, you need to wake up now. Potion time!"

Sirius smiled down as sleepy green eyes opened and blinked up and him confused for a moment,

"What time is it?"

"Just after four!" Sirius answered as he tightened a thick cover over Harry as he sat up, "Mipsy should be here soon."

Only a few seconds there was a _crack_ as the old house elf appeared with a suspicious look on her face.

"Master Sirius has been behaving?" She asked.

The man in question raised his arms in mock surrender, "I have indeed! Now, how many potions this time?"

The house elf sniffed, "Two for Master Sirius and one for Master Harry." She said as she passed the vials over to their respective wizard. As soon as both had been taken their potions, Mipsy put a tea tray onto the breakfast table and onto the bed.

"There is treacle tart, juice and tea for you both." She said before disappearing once more.

"Yummy!" Sirius exclaimed as he looked at the golden tart, "You had treacle tart before Har-bear?"

Harry looked at the tart suspiciously, "No, what is it? It doesn't look like treacle, treacle is all dark."

Sirius passed the boy over a plate of the tart with a small fork, "It isn't actually treacle, it is golden syrup. I don't know why they call it treacle tart when there isn't any treacle in it. However, you will like it, very sweet. Juice?"

"Please." Harry said as he picked up a piece of the tart on his fork,"Thank you. This is really good!" He said as he tasted the tart.

"We used to have it at Hogwarts a lot. James loved it! I think he once proposed to one in the middle of a Halloween feast by reciting the entirety of a Shakespearean sonnet at it whilst he was on bended knee holding a flower. Then after he was engaged to Lily, he tried very hard to have a treacle tart wedding cake made up of six layers of tart. Lily wasn't too impressed with the idea!"

Sirius laughed at the memory and was not really surprised when Harry joined in, "Now, what are we going to do between now and supper?"

Harry looked thoughtful, "Can you tell me more about the wizarding world? 'Cause I know about Hogwarts and Quidditch but not about much else."

Sirius sat back with a sigh and pulled Harry close, "Well the wizarding world is much like the muggle one, we have a government called the Ministry, a hospital called St Mungo's and policemen called aurors. All our areas are hidden and you have to know where to look to find them, if you were to go to London..." Sirius rambling description drifted on, talking about dragon reservations and Gringotts', from the wizarding beaches of France to the concept of apprenticeships. And by the time that supper rolled around, both had decided it was a rather nice time to spend the afternoon.

* * *

Cassiopeia was sitting preparing for war in her study. She had received word that Narcissa Malfoy was going to walk through the floo in half-an-hour and she knew that preparation was key. Whilst she doubted the motives of the girl she knew that to throw away the potential for assistance would be ridiculous and a huge mistake. As a mother, Narcissa was sure to understand why the Potter heir had been removed from his previous guardians whilst as a traditionalist, she was sure to loathe the idea of the heir to one of the great magical Houses being raised by muggles. However, as a mother, Narcissa was likely to desire the title of Lord Black for her son. Cassiopeia sighed, irritated by the fact that she knew so little of her great niece's present character to predict her reactions. For some people it was easy to know their reactions and it was something that she prided herself, so when she could not, it worried her as human emotions caused a variable that effected all her plans.

As Narcissa stepped elegantly from the floo with practiced ease she looked carefully around, taking into account the three people who stood in the room.

"Lady Malfoy." Said Cassiopeia as she approached the blonde woman.

"Great Aunt Cassiopeia." Narcissa replied in turn, "I was honoured that you accepted my attempt at communication.

She received a curled lip in return, "My dear niece, we Blacks' number few and as such must be prepared to move forward together if at all possible despite our respective histories. Taking that into account may I introduce two of our number who have returned into the fold. My brother, Marius and my cousin, Phineas who was the brother of Arcturus and uncle of Orion Black."

Narcissa looked at the pair of men who approached to kiss her hand, "It is an honour to meet you both."

Cassiopeia was quick to end the greetings. "Now, I have had enough of the social niceties and small talk. Therefore, it seems we must speak of controversial matters."

Narcissa nodded, she knew that the protection that social protocols would only protect her from so long.

"In your letter you said that you wanted us to consider you as an 'ally'." Cassiopeia started as she strolled carefully around the room. Narcissa hardly noticed that the two men had left them to it as she was more concerned with the viper in human form that walked round the room. "Obviously you must be aware that Sirius is now free and around him lie some of our greatest plans."

"Why him?" Narcissa asked, "He is disowned, cannot inherit and cannot have children!"

"My dear niece, we are not thinking in the long term yet. We are thinking of the next ten years at the moment, we have no other choice yet... Our reputation is almost completely ill and we have no-one in the Wizengamot or political scene. We are building from the ground up."

Narcissa scoffed, "You think I believe that? You not plan several steps ahead? You would plan the next _three_ generations in advance if you could."

"We cannot tell you everything..." Cassiopeia started before she was interrupted.

"Ha! You would tell me nothing if you could. Why not accept that my son is the only heir."

"Because he isn't?" the elder woman answered, her voice rising.

"Really? Let's look at it shall we? Regulus dead. Sirius disowned and infertile. Bellatrix in Azkaban. Andromeda disowned. Guess what, that leaves me. And I happen to have a son who has been raised to be a pure blood heir. I want to see this House restored and it can be done with time!"

"HOUSE BLACK WILL BE GONE IN THE NEXT DECADE IF WE DO AS YOU ASK. WE THINK FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS HOUSE AND FAMILY." Cassiopeia roared, "ARE YOU REALLY THAT SO ABSORBED WITH THE POWER OF YOUR SON AND HUSBAND THAT YOU WOULD IGNORE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND ADVICE?"

"YES...Yes." Narcissa admitted as she collapsed into a seat, "You think that sitting here in France you understand what it is like in Britain. I can trust no-one. My family was gone, I found myself married and pregnant whilst one sister was disowned and the other swanning around Britain torturing people, it is a well accepted fact that Malfoys' only have one child so who did I have to turn to on that side. Lucius' father?" Narcissa laughed almost hysterically, "That man was as insane as Walburga. Who could I trust other than my family's own power and money? Having control of the title would provide my family with another layer of protection that we need.

You got away from all the chaos of that world and instead decided to sit here in a castle in France and leave us to deal with the fallout. Did you not think that you could resolve the whole situation years ago? You had the political power and knowledge and yet you washed your hands of us until and choose to wait until you could find someone you could manipulate, Sirius provided the perfect opportunity. You are as bad as Dumbledore, you both manipulate for your own gain and sit in the shadows moving people like chess pieces! The only difference between you and Dumbledore is that he pretends to be an old man, full of wisdom who is content to teach the next generation rather than you who gives no such pretenses. And you know what, I don't know which I prefer!"

With that the Lady Malfoy slumped back in her chair rubbing her face carefully and taking a mouthful from a glass of gillywater by her side.

Cassiopeia mimicked her action as she opened a cabinet and pulled out some firewhiskey, with which she poured a generous measure.

She cleared her throat, "I will not apologise for my words and actions for they were done with the best intentions at heart...although I am sure Dumbledore would claim the same." The last part was muttered dispassionately, "We must accept our lot in life and death. You are right though, I did have it easier in France than England, I suppose I felt that being away from action would give more insight into the situation, just as it was easier being in Britain when Grindelwald rose in mainland Europe.

At this moment your son will not be Lord Black. We have plans afoot that will allow us a Lord Black who will lead us forward. Sirius is well aware that we are in essence using him and he, I suppose, accepted it. We cannot tell you everything as everything relies on timing and individual people reacting in expected and unexpected ways. The family law means that you cannot discuss this with anyone, therefore if you do not trust us and accept our plans then you can walk through that fireplace and away to do what you will... Or you can accept that your son is not likely to end up Lord Black, trust us and stay. What say you?"

* * *

 **I am just going to end it here as I haven't completely worked out how Narcissa will react.** **It may be a while until I can update again as I have a research trip for the next month but I shall try to write when possible.**

 **Thank you to** kyrandiana **who gave me the idea of the meeting with Remus, we shall be seeing more of him soon.**

 **As ever, review and tell me your thoughts. F200x**


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